i 




« A company was gathered round a stranger, who was address- 
ing them." 



King's Highway. 



FRONTISPIECE. 



THE 



KING'S HIGHWAY; 

OR, 



REV. RICHARD ^NEWTON, D.D., 

AUTHOR OF 

" KILLS FROM THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE ;" " BEST THINGS ;" " THE GIANTS, AND 
HOW TO FIGHT THE1I," ETC. 




NEW YORK: 
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 

No. 530 BROADWAY. 
1861. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by 

ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 
Southern District of New York. 



EDWARD O. JENKINS, 

printer & ^ter'eotgpcr, 
No. 26 Frankfort Street. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



I.— THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.— Pakt 1 9 

II.— THE FIEST COMMANDMENT.— Part II 42 

III. — THE SECOND COMMANDMENT Tl 

IV. — THE THIRD COMMANDMENT 102 

V.— THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT 136 

VI. — THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT 172 

VII.— THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT 209 

VIII.— THE SEVENTH AND EIGHTH COMMANDMENTS. 245 

IX.— THE NINTH COMMANDMENT 279 

X.— THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 310 



(3) 



\ 



PREFACE. 



A highway is a road, or way laid out. and 
prepared for people to walk in. In a country 
governed by a king, it is expected of him to 
have public roads made for the convenience of 
the people. Such a road, when made, is called 
" the Icing's highway." 

Now this world is God's country. It be- 
longs to Him. He is the owner, and king of 
it. We should expect Him, therefore, to have 
a highway prepared for His people to walk in. 
And He has such a way. We read in the 
Bible, — Isaiah xxxv. 8, — that there shall be 
" an highway ; it shall be called the way of 
holiness. The redeemed shall walk in it." 
This way means, the path of obedience to 
God's commandments. It is this path which 
is intended by " The King's Highway." When 
we repent of our sins, and believe in Jesus as 

5 



6 



PREFACE. 



our Saviour, and try to love and serve Him, 
this is the way He wishes us to walk in. 
Hence, He says to us, " If ye love me, keep my 
commandments." Whatever we do from love 
is always pleasant. And ' ; The King's High- 
way " is a pleasant way to walk in . because 
those who walk in it are prompted by love. 

May God give grace to all who read this 
little volume, truly to love that Saviour who 
died for them, and to show that love by walk- 
ing in " The King's Highway ;" and may He 
bring us all, at last, in safety to that blessed 
home above, to which this Highway leads ! 

For the series of very appropriate and 
beautiful " Hymns on the Commandments," 
connected with this volume, I am indebted to 
the ready pen of my dear brother, the Rev. 
William Newton, of West Chester, Pennsyl- 
vania. It is intended to have them published 
by themselves for the use of Sunday-schools. 

RICHARD NEWTON. 



I. 

%\t first €ammmtsmmt.— fart 1 



" I am the Lord thy God ;— Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 

— Exodus xx. 2, 3. 




SUPPOSE you have all seen a proces- 
sion, at some time or other? And no 
doubt you like to see processions. The 
longest procession, that ever was seen, 
took place more than thirty-three hun- 



dred years ago. It was formed when the 
children of Israel went up out of Egypt. 
There were more than two millions of people 
in it. That is nearly four times as many 
as all the people in Philadelphia put together. 
Moses was the leader of this procession. It 
started, from the land of Egypt, to go to the 
land of Canaan. The Israelites, in this pro- 
cession, had to travel through the wilderness. 
There were no roads through that wilderness ; 

(9) 



10 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



no milestones, or finger-posts, to point out the 
way. Not one person, in the procession, had 
ever travelled through that wilderness, or 
knew any thing about the way. The mariners 7 
compass, — with its needle always pointing to 
the north, and enabling people now to trav- 
el safely, across oceans, or deserts, where there 
are no paths, — was not invented then. But 
God gave the people, in that procession, some- 
thing that was very wonderful, instead of a 
compass. It looked like a mass of white smoke. 
The Bible calls it " a pillar of cloud." In the 
day-time it looked like a piece of one of those 
soft, fleecy clouds, that we often see, floating in 
the sky. But at night it changed its appear- 
ance, and glowed, and brightened, and shone 
like a flame of fire. It floated low down, and 
hung right over the ark of the covenant, 
which went before the children of Israel. 

Now, the procession is in motion. It is 
formed in regular ranks, like a great army of 
soldiers. They march out from Egypt they 
come to the Red sea. There is no bridge 
across it. They have no boats. High ranges 



THE FIEST COMMANDMENT. 



11 



of mountains shut them in, on either side. 
What are they to do ? God commands them 
to go forward ! What, right into the sea ? 
Yes, right into the sea. They obey God ; 
and, the very moment that the priests, who are 
at the head of the procession, touch the waters 
of the sea with their feet, the waves are di- 
vided, and roll back before them. A broad 
road is open for them through the midst of the 
sea. The waters are piled up, on each side of 
them, like great walls of glass, or ice ; and re- 
main so till the procession has passed over. 

Now, they are all safe through. They begin 
to travel into the wilderness. They have 
made three days 7 journey ; and, at last, a great 
mountain appears in sight. They move on 
till they come to it. At the foot of the moun- 
tain the procession halts. The people pitch 
their tents, and rest there. That is Mount 
Sinai. On the top of that mountain God told 
Moses that He would come down, and meet 
him ; and give him a law, to show the Israelites, 
and all other people, what He wanted them to 
do. God ordered Moses to build a fence, round 



12 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



the bottom of the mountain, to keep any of the 
people from coming up. Then He told him to 
come up to the top of the mountain, when he 
should hear a trumpet giving a long, loud 
sound. 

The fence is built, and Moses is ready, 
waiting for the signal. The top of the moun- 
tain is all covered up with dark, black clouds. 
The lightnings flash out from amidst them. 
The thunders roll down the sides of the moun- 
tain. The mountain shakes, and trembles : 
God has come down upon the top of it. And 
the sound of the trumpet is heard. It is an 
angel's trumpet ; the same that shall be heard 
at the last day, when the graves are opened, 
and the dead come forth. How solemn it must 
have been to hear that trumpet ! Moses hears 
it. He goes up the mountain. The people all 
watch him, as he travels up, higher, and higher. 
Now, he enters the cloud ; and they see him no 
longer. Moses is on the top of the mount 
talking with God. There God gave him His 
great law of the Ten Commandments. God 
wrote these commandments, with his own fin- 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



13 



ger, on two tables of stone. The first four 
commandments, which show us what our duty 
to God is, were on one table ; and the remain- 
ing six, which show us what our duty to man 
is, were on the other. 

And now the trumpet sounds again. All 
the people hear it, and are afraid. They listen 
tremblingly. The trumpet ceases. Another 
sound, more awful than the angel's trumpet, 
is heard. It is the voice of God. It sounds 
like thunder. And God spake all these words, 
saying ; — " I am the Lord thy God, which have 
brought thee out of the land of Egypt ; out 
of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no 
other gods before me." 

This is the first commandment. There are 
two questions that may be asked about this 
commandment ; one is this : What is it to have 
a god ? The other is this : Why should we 
have no other gods but the Lord ? 

Our sermon to-day will be about the first 
of these questions. We must have another 
sermon on the second question. 
2 



14 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



The question we are now to try and answer 

is ; — What is it to have a God ? 

I mean by this a true God, such as the Lord 
Jesus Christ is to us. This is the answer to 
the question ; — it is to have one who is able to 
do three things for us ; and one who has a right 
to expect three things from us. 

To have a God is to have one who can do 
three things for us. 

The first thing we want our God to be able 

tO do is, ALWAYS TO HELP. 

The little child always needs the help of its 
mother. The blind man always needs the 
help of some one to guide him. The sick man 
always needs the help of the physician. We 
are here, in this world, like children ; like per- 
sons who are blind, or sick. We need to be 
taken care of like children. We need to be 
guided, like the blind ; and to be watched and 
tended, like the sick. And who can do this 
for us? Our parents can help us in some 
things. Our teachers and friends can help us 
in some things, but not in all. They can't be 
always with us ; nor can they always help us 



THE FIEST COMMANDMENT. 15 

when they are with us. At the quiet hour of 
midnight, when they are fast asleep themselves, 
what can they do to help us ? When we are 
far away from home, what can they do to help 
us ? We need some one who can always help 
us. Then it must be some one who is present 
in every place ; whose eye never slumbers, and 
whose arm never grows weary. Is there such 
a one to be found ? Yes, God our Saviour is 
just such a one. He is with us by night, as 
well as by day ; abroad, as well as at home. 
His eye is never closed. His arm is always 
strong. He is always everywhere. The Bible 
tells us He is " a very present help, in every 
time of trouble." David says, " The Lord is 
my help, whom then shall I fear ? " He didn't 
fear the lion, or the bear, that came to steal his 
sheep, because God helped him to kill them. 
He didn't fear Goliath, the great Philistine 
giant, because God helped him to fight, and 
conquer him. 

People are needing help in different places, 
at the same time, all over the earth. And no 
one can really be a God who is not able to 



16 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



hear, and help, all these different persons at 
once. 

The heathen have many gods. They think 
each god has a particular place to attend to ; 
and that he can only help people in the place 
to which he belongs. But this is very foolish. 
The truth is, the gods of the heathen can't 
help, those who pray to them, in one place 
any more than another. They help nobody. 
We need a God who can always help. And 
there is only one such God. 

" Mother, how many gods are there ? " asked 
a little boy, one day. 

A younger brother, who heard him, said, 
" Why, one to be sure." 

" But how do you know that? " said the one 
who asked the question. 

" Because," said his little brother, " God fills 
every place, so there is no room for any other." 

The first thing we want our God to be able 

tO do is ALWAYS TO HELP US. 

The second thing we want our God to be 
able to do is — always to save us. 

Our bodies are often in danger, as well as 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 17 

our souls ; and we want a God who can save 
them both. When Daniel was thrown into the 
den of lions, he needed a God who could pre- 
serve him from their devouring jaws ; and he 
found such a one in the Lord. 

When the three Jews were thrown into the 
blazing furnace, because they wouldn't worship 
Nebuchadnezzar's image, they needed a God 
who could save them from being burnt up by 
the flames ; and they found such a one in the 
Lord our God. 

When Jonah was cast into the stormy sea, 
he needed a God who could take care of him 
and bring him safe to land again. He found 
such a one in our God, who sent the great fish, 
like a living ship, to take him on board and 
carry him ashore. 

When the disciples were in their little vessel, 
tossed by the storm on the sea of Galilee, they 
needed a God who could control the violence 
of the storm, and make it obey Him. They 
found such a one in Jesus their Saviour ; for 
when they awoke him, " He arose, and rebuked 
the winds, and the sea, saying, ' Peace ! be 



18 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



still !' and immediately there was a great 
calm." 

And so we are all exposed to sickness, dan- 
ger, and death, continually. We can't pre- 
serve ourselves ; and our best friends can't 
preserve us. We need some one who can 
keep us alive, and protect us in all danger. 
Jesus can do this. He is called " the Saviour 
of the body." He counts the hairs of our 
heads. He is about our path, and about our 
bed continually. He is able to save our bodies. 
The birds of the air, the beasts of the field, the 
people in the world, are in His hands. He can 
take care of them all. He can save the body. 

But the soul is more precious than the body. 
We want a G-od that can save the soul. We 
all have many sins that must be pardoned. 
We have a conscience, a something in our 
bosoms which troubles us, and makes us feel 
uneasy, on account of sin ; and we want to have 
this conscience quieted, and made at peace. 
We have wicked hearts that must be made 
new and good, or we never can be happy ; and 
we want a God who can do this for us. 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 19 



Suppose I break the main-spring of my 
watch ; it runs down ; it won't go. I try to 
mend it, but I can't : I ask one of you to do it. 
You shake your head and say, " I can't do it." 
I take it to a shoemaker ; he can't do it. I take 
it to a carpenter, a wheelwright, a blacksmith, 
a lawyer, a doctor, but none of them can 
mend it. After a while I take it to a watch- 
maker ; he understands all about it. He puts 
a new spring in it ; and it goes as well as ever. 

Now the soul is like a watch ; sin has broken 
the main-spring ; it won't go ; we want some 
one to mend it. We want a new heart, or a 
new main-spring for the watch ; but the soul- 
maker is the only one who can do this. To 
try to get this done in any other way, is like 
carrying your broken watch, for repairs, to a 
shoemaker, or a blacksmith. 

There was once a man in India, a heathen, 
who felt that he was a sinner. His conscience 
troubled him dreadfully, about his sins ; but he 
knew not how to get rid of them. He had 
spent several years in consulting the priests, 
and visiting the different temples, in the hope 



20 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



of getting relief. He did all that he was told 
to do ; but it did him no good. At one temple, 
he was told to take a long journey, on his 
hands and knees. He did it ; but was no better. 
He had washed himself in different fountains ; 
he had fasted, till he was almost worn to a 
skeleton : he had done many painful things, but 
without any relief. At last, he was told to put 
pebbles in his shoes, and travel to a distant 
temple, and make an offering to the idol, and he 
would be relieved. He had been there, and 
offered his sacrifice, and prayers, but in vain. 

Sad, and sorrowful, he was returning home, 
with the pebbles still in his shoes. Wearied 
with his journey, he halted one day, in the shade 
of a grove, by the wayside, where a company 
was gathered around a stranger, who was ad- 
dressing them. It was a missionary preaching 
the gospel. The poor heathen listened with 
great interest. The missionary was preaching 
from these words ; — " The blood of Jesus Christ 
cleanseth from all sin." He showed how Jesus 
was able, and willing, to save all who came 
unto Him. The heart of the heathen was 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 21 



drawn to Jesus. He took off his shoes, and 
threw away the pebbles, exclaiming, " This is 
the Saviour I have sought in vain. Thank 
God, I have found salvation." 

This poor man had been carrying his broken 
watch to tinkers, and blacksmiths. They could 
do nothing with it. At last he found the 
watchmaker, and all was right. 

Jesus says, " Look unto me, all ye ends of the 
earth ; for I am God, and there is none else. 
Besides me there is no Saviour." We need 
a God who can always save. 

But then there is a third thing that we ex- 
pect God to be able to do for us, and that is, 

ALWAYS TO MAKE US HAPPY. 

When we are in health, and have affectionate 
parents, and kind friends, and many comforts 
and enjoyments around us, we do not feel, so 
much, our need of God. We are ready to 
think that we can be happy without Him. 
But, when sickness comes, and pain is racking 
our body ; when our parents die, and our 
friends are taken away from us ; then it is 
that we need some one to make us happy. 



22 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Yes, and when we come to die ourselves ; 
when we are to leave all that we have known, 
and loved, on earth behind us, we need some 
one to make us happy then. And if the God 
we have is the true God, this is just what 
He will do. Now, it is easy to find those who 
can tell us that Jesus does make them happy, 
in health and prosperity. There are many 
teachers in this school, and many members of 
this congregation, who are ready to come for- 
ward and say, " That is so. He has made me 
happy. He makes me happy all the time." 

But, the one who is a God to us must be 
able to make us happy, in sickness, and suffer- 
ing, in death, and eternity. Can Jesus do this ? 
Yes, He can. 

" I was called upon," said a minister, " some 
time ago, to visit a man who was suffering from 
a cancer. It had eaten away a part of his face. 
It was going on to eat the rest. His appear- 
ance was awful. He was suffering dreadfully, 
all the time. I said to him, ' Suppose, my 
friend, that God should give you your choice ; 
to have your cancer, with all its pain and suffer- 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 23 



ing, and the certainty of soon dying, but being 
happy with Him for ever ; or, to have health, 
and prosperity, and long life, in this world, 
with the risk of losing your soul hereafter ; 
which would you prefer ? ' ' Ah, sir,' the man 
instantly exclaimed, ' give me the cancer and 
the pain, with Jesus and the hope of heaven ; 
let others take the world, and long life and 
prosperity without Him.' " 

This shows how Jesus can make the sick, 
and suffering happy. I could fill a volume in 
showing how He makes the dying happy. 

I will only mention one or two cases. A 
dear child, between five and six years old, who 
had a happy home, and fond parents, was on 
his death-bed. His father asked him which he 
would choose ; to live with his parents, and 
friends here, or die and be with Jesus in 
heaven. He answered, cheerfully, " I would 
rather die, and be with Jesus in heaven ; and 
wait there till you come. 1 '' 

A Christian was dying, after long suffering. 
These were his last words as his friends stood 
weeping round his bed ; — 



24 the king's highway. 

" Almost horae ! almost home ! My precious 
Bible ! True, every line. I never thought it 
could have supported me thus ; but it does. 
I never thought I could have enjoyed so much 
on a dying-bed. I have not one anxious wish. 
It is heaven already begun. I am as happy as 
I can be, this side of heaven." 

Now He who can do this for His people, in 
sickness, in suffering, and in death, can make 
them always happy. 

These are the three things which we expect 
Him, who is our God, to be able to do for us. 
We expect Him to be able always to help ; 

ALWAYS TO SAVE ; AND ALWAYS TO MAKE US 
HAPPY. 

But then there are three things that He, who 
is our God, has a right to expect from us. 

He has a right to expect our highest love. 
The gods of the heathen don't expect the peo- 
ple to love them, at all. And it is very well 
they don't, for no one could love them. 

The character, and the appearance, of those 
gods are such that it is impossible to love them. 
Some of those gods are represented as often 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



25 



getting drunk ; some as robbers, and others 
as murderers. Why, if we were to do what 
some of those gods are said to do, we should 
be put in prison, or hung. We should not be 
fit to live in decent society. Can any body 
love such gods ? 

And then think of the appearance of some of 
the heathen gods. 

The god Moloch was a frightful-looking 
monster, with a great red mouth, and grin- 
ning teeth, to show that he was fond of blood. 
Could any one love such a god? 

The goddess Kalee, now worshipped by a 
great portion of the people in India, is a fierce- 
looking female figure, with instruments of 
death in her hands, and a string of human 
skulls hung round her neck, as . an ornament. 
Her followers think that they can do nothing 
to please her, better than to murder people, 
whenever they have an opportunity. Can any 
one love such a god ? 

G-anesa, another of the gods of the Hindoos, 
is represented by a most strange and mon- 
strous figure. He has the head of an elephant, 
3 



26 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



with four arms and hands. He always appears 
riding on the back of a huge rat. He has the 
figure of a serpent, in a sort of ring round his 
head, with some sacred letters in it. 

And then, I might speak of the great Jug- 
gernaut ; — of Hanniman, the monkey-god ; of 
Manesa, the snake-god ; and many others, all 
very much of the same character. It is impos- 
sible for any one to love such gods. And these 
gods do not expect to be loved. They do not 
ask people to love them. All they want is to 
be worshipped, and have offerings made to 
them. 

But, the true God must be one who can be 
loved. He is one who has a right to expect, 
not only our love, but our highest love. He 
expects us to love Him ; and to love Him bet- 
ter than any other person, or thing in the 
world. We must love Him more thaa we 
love father, or mother, or brother, or sister, or 
any one that we know. Jesus said, when He 
was on earth, that we must love God with all 
our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. 
And our God, the God of the Bible, can be 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 27 



loved in this way. He is pure. He is good. 
He is holy. " G-od is love." He expects, and 
he deserves our highest love. It is right to 
love Hiro better than any one else. But it is 
neither right, nor possible to love any one else 
in this way. And this shows that He is the 
true God. He has a right to expect our 

HIGHEST LOVE. 

This is the first thing He has a right to ex- 
pect from us. 

The second thing, He has a right to expect 
from us, is our unquestioning obedience. 

These are larger words than I like to use, 
but I think you can all understand them. You 
know we are taught to pray that God's " will 
may be done, on earth, as it is in heaven." 
This means that ice should obey God as the 
angels do in heaven. 

A Sunday-school teacher once asked his 
class, how the angels obey God. Different 
answers were given ; but the best was that of 
a little boy, who said, " They obey without 
asking any questions." That is true. It was 
a capital answer. 



28 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



I have sometimes heard a mother call to 
her daughter, " Mary, come here in a min- 
ute !" Mary is playing with her doll ; and 
instead of getting right up, and running to her 
mother, she goes on fixing her doll, and says 
in a very ugly tone, " Oh, what do you want ? " 

" John, here, I want you to go on an er- 
rand f says a father to his son. John is 
making some bobtails for his kite. Instead 
of minding, at once, what his father tells him, 
he keeps on with what he is doing, and says, 
" Won't it do by and by, when I get through 
with fixing my kite ?" 

That is not the way in which the angels 
obey. They do every thing that God tells 
them to do ; and they do it at once, without 
stopping to ask any questions. This is what 
I mean by unquestioning obedience. God has 
a right to expect this kind of obedience from 
us. He expects us to do every thing that He 
commands. And it is proper for us to do 
this, because we know that every thing that 
God commands is right. Others may com- 
mand things that are not right, and then we 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 29 



are not to obey. It is right to obey our rul- 
ers ; but only when their laws are according 
to the laws of God. 

Nebuchadnezzar made a law, that all peo- 
ple should worship the graven image, which he 
had set up, or be cast into the fiery furnace. 
Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego refused to 
obey, and they did right. 

The rulers of Jerusalem forbade the apos- 
tles to preach about Jesus. But they went on 
preaching ; and when they were brought to 
trial they said ; — " We must obey God rather 
than man." And they were right. We must 
not obey even our teachers, or parents, if they 
command- us to do any thing plainly con- 
trary to the will of God. 

I knew a Sunday-school boy, once, who be- 
came a Christian when he was about fourteen 
years old. His father used to keep a grocery 
store ; and on Sunday mornings he would open 
his store, for an hour, to supply his customers 
with goods. The father always called his son, 
in the morning, to go down, and open the store. 
The boy never thought there was any thing 




3* 



30 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



wrong in it, till lie became a Christian. Then 
he thought about God's command to keep the 
Sabbath holy. He felt that to open the store, 
and sell things on Sunday, was breaking God's 
command. This thought troubled him very 
much. He knew not what to do. He was very 
unwilling to disobey his earthly father ; and 
yet he felt still more unwilling to disobey his 
heavenly Father. He was afraid his father 
would turn him out of doors, if he refused to 
open the store, when he told him to do so ; and 
he had no one to offer him another home. 
He was greatly distressed. But he prayed for 
God to show him what to do ; and, at last, he 
determined to obey God, whatever the conse- 
quence might be ; and trust that God would 
take care of him. When he had taken this 
resolution, he waited, very anxiously, for the 
end of the week to come. It came, at last. 
Then, late on Saturday night, when the store 
was closed, and the work all done, just before 
going to bed, he told his father that he wanted 
to be an obedient son, and do all that he told 
him to do, but he felt that opening the store, 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



31 



and selling goods on the Sabbath, was break- 
ing God's commandment, and he hoped he 
would excuse him from that. 

Just as he supposed, his father got very 
angry ; and told him if he was too good to do 
what he did, he must leave his house, and seek 
another home. He told him he might stay 
till Monday morning, and then go. 

The poor boy was greatly distressed, and 
knew not where to go. But, on Monday morn- 
ing, his father called him to open the store, as 
usual, and said no more to him about going 
away. In a short time after, his father gave 
notice, to his customers, that he wouldn't open 
his store any more on Sunday. Then he took 
to going to church regularly ; he soon became 
a member of the church — and loved that son 
more than ever. 

It may not be always right to obey, without 
questioning, all that others command us ; but, 
it is always right to obey, without questioning, 
every thing that God commands. He never 
does wrong Himself ; and never commands 
others to do wrong. Whatever He tells us 



32 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



to do must be right. And therefore He ex- 
pects from US — UNQUESTIONING OBEDIENCE. 

Then there is a third thing God expects from 
us ; — and that is, sinceee wokship. 

Sincere means that which is true, or pure. 
This word was first used to denote honey, that 
was clear, and had no wax, or sediment in it. 
Think of a glass jar, full of clear, transparent, 
honey, without the least dirt, or sediment in 
it. Now if a person who spoke Latin was 
describing it, he would say it was honey sine 
cera; i. e., honey without wax in it. And this 
is what we get our English word sincere from. 
It means that which is clear, pure, or free from 
imperfection. 

Now, G-od expects from us this kind of wor- 
ship. Sincere ivhat does God expect from us ? 
Worship. Let us see what this means. Wor- 
ship is a word made up of two other words ; 
viz., worth, and ship, or shape. It means, then, 
that we should put ourselves in the position, 
or shape, that is worthy of God. Or, it means, 
that we should render to Him the service that 
is worthy of Him. And what is the proper 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 33 

shape, or position, for sinners, such as we are, 
to put ourselves in before God ? David tells 
us, when he says, " Oh ! come, let us worship, 
and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our 
maker." Yes, a position of humble reverence 
is what we should put ourselves in when we 
would ivorsliip God. This is the shape, or 
condition, worthy of God for sinful creatures 
to appear in. 

But the shape of a thing denotes its use, or 
service. If you see iron put in the shape of a 
bright, sharp blade, you know it is designed 
to cut. If you see it put into a round shape, 
like a ball, you know it is designed to roll. 
If you see a pile of wood, broken up into the 
shape of kindling, you know it is designed to 
burn. And if you see a man, in the form of a 
servant, with an apron on, and his sleeves 
rolled up, you know he is designed for work. 
And so when we appear before God, as His 
worshippers, — in the form, or shape worthy of 
Him, — we mean to say that we are ready to 
offer Him our prayers, and praises, and that 
we* desire to serve Him. And when we do 



34 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



this honestly, and earnestly, with all our 
hearts, that is sincere worship. This is the 
service God deserves. He is worthy of it. 

And if this is what sincere worship means, 
in reference to God, what would sincere wor- 
ship of idols mean ? It would mean the ser- 
vice that they are worthy of. And what is 
this ? What do they deserve ? They deserve 
to be broken in pieces, and thrown to the 
moles and bats. This is all that they are fit 
for ; and this is what they must all come to at 
last. The Bible tells us, that " The idols God 
will utterly abolish." 

Sincere tvorship is what God expects from 
us. But, is it sincere worship if we trifle, or 
play, when those about us are singing God's 
praise, or praying to Him ? Is it sincere wor- 
ship if we kneel down to pray to God our- 
selves, but don't think about, or feel, what we 
are saying ? No, this is mocking God, and 
that is a dreadful thing to do. 

" For God is present everywhere, 

And watches all our thoughts and ways ; 
He marks who humbly join in prayer, 
And who sincerely sing His praise. 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



35 



" The triflers, too, His eye can see, 
Who only seem to take a part ; 
They move the lip, and bend the knee, 
But do not seek Him with the heart." 

Now, my dear children, we have tried to 
consider the question — what is it to have a 
God ? We have answered this by saying, 
that it is to have one who is able to do three 
things for us ; — and has a right to expect three 
things from us. 

What are the three things God is able to 
do for us ? He is able always to help ; — 

ALWAYS TO SAVE ; — and ALWAYS TO MAKE US 
HAPPY. 

Then He has a right to expect three things 
from us. What are these ? He has a right to 
expect our highest love ; — our unquestion- 
ing OBEDIENCE; — and OUR SINCERE WORSHIP. 

This is what it is to have a true God. 

There are two questions I want to ask, be- 
fore closing. This is one question — What is it 
to have an idol ? The hymn we are going to 
sing presently, tells us, 



36 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



" There are many heathen children 
Who yet God's name have known ; 
And many other idols 

Than those of wood and stone." 

Then there is another hymn which asks — 

" What is an idol ? Every heart 
Hath idols of its own, 
Some are of gold, and silver bright, 
And some of wood and stone. 

" Lord, is there aught the world contains 
Which I love more than Thee ? 
Then sure, that love, within my heart, 
Idolatry must be." 

Some people make money their god. Some 
make eating and drinking their god. Some- 
times a husband will make an idol out of his 
wife ; or a wife will make an idol out of a hus- 
band. Sometimes parents will make idols of 
their children. Many idols are made out of 
silk or satin. A beautiful dress, a new bon- 
net, a pretty ribbon, may be an idol. I won- 
der if God sees any such idols here this after- 
noon ? 

A little boy once had a pet bird, of which 
he was very fond. He took great delight 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 37 

in playing with it. It would eat out of his 
hand, and perch on his finger. One day the 
bird died ; and the little fellow cried almost 
as if his heart would break. At night, when 
his mother took him up stairs, he wanted to 
go to bed without saying his prayers. When 
she spoke to him about it, he said, " Mother, 
I don't want to say my prayers to-night, for 
my little birdie's dead, and I can't say 1 Thy 
wiU be done.'' " That little fellow had made 
an idol of his bird. He loved it more than 
God. His mother tried to show him how 
wrong it was to feel so, and taught him to 
pray to God for grace to say, " Thy will be 
done." 

A lady, who was very fond of playing cards, 
once said to a distinguished clergyman, " I 
like the doctrine you preach, sir, very much, 
and I think I can give up every thing but one." 

" What is that, madam ?" asked the minis- 
ter. 

" Cards, sir." 

" You think you could not be happy with- 
out them ?" 

4 



38 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



" No, sir, I could not.' 7 

" Then, madam, tJiey are your god ; and to 
them you must look for salvation." This led 
her to think seriously on the subject, and she 
soon became a Christian. 

Let us never forget, that whatever we love 
more than God, that is our idol. Oh ! what 
multitudes of idolaters there are in this city ! 
And how many there are in this congregation ! 
Let each of us ask himself the question — Do I 
love any person or thing more than I love 
God ? If you do, that is your idol. 

The other question I would ask is this — 
What shall we do tvith our idols ? There is a 
verse in a hymn we sometimes sing, which 
answers this question. It says — 

" The dearest idol I have known, 
Whate ; er that idol be, — 
Help me to tear it from thy throne, 
A.nd worship only Thee." 

This shows us what we ought to do. If we 
find that we have idols in our hearts, we must 
tell Jesus about it. We must repent of the 
sin of having them, and pray for Him to help 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



39 



us to put them away, and love Him better than 
any thing else. When Jesus was on earth peo- 
ple came to Him with all their troubles ; and 
He helped, and comforted all who came to Him. 
And He will help us still, if we ask Him to do 
so. 

A Christian mother was once showing her 
little girl, about five years old, a picture repre- 
senting Jesus, holding an infant in His arms, 
while the mothers were pushing their children 
towards Him. " There, Carrie," said her moth- 
er, " that's what I would have done with you 
if I had been there." 

" I wouldn't he pushed to Jesus," said little 
Carrie, with beautiful and touching earnest- 
ness, " Td go to Him without pushing 

Now this was just right. This is the way 
in which we ought to go to Jesus. How kind 
He is ! How tender ! How ready to help and 
ble'ss ! My dear children, won't you go to 
Jesus at once ? Oh ! go " without pushing." 
Ask Him to help you to put away every idol, 
and " have no other God before Him." 



40 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



HYMN ON THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

I want to love my Saviour, 

And worship Him, alone ; 
And have no earthly idol 

"Upon my spirit's throne. 
I want, with pure devotion, 

To serve Him all my days ; 
And, for His countless blessings, 

To yield Him grateful praise. 

It is His hand hath made me ; 

His power upholds me still ; 
And He will always aid me 

To do His holy will. 
Dear Saviour, be Thou near me, 

And guide my feet aright ; 
And make my thoughts and actions 

Both blameless in Thy sight. 

There are many heathen children, 
Who yet Thy name have known ; 

And many other idols 

Than those of wood and stone. 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

Oh ! if our hearts were opened 
That other eyes might see, 

How like a Heathen Temple 
Would they be found to be ! 

And yet, to Him who formed them, 

Each secret thought is known — 
He sees each separate object 

That occupies His Throne. 
Lord, in Thy name appearing, 

We come on bended knee : 
Oh ! teach us how to worship 

No other God but Thee / 
4* 



II. 

%\t first Cffranraitimeut.— fart 2. 




" Thou shalt have no other gods hefore me."— Exodus xx. 3. 

SHORT time since somebody pub- 
lished a book, the title of which is 
" The Reason WliyT This is a very 
queer title for a book. But it is a very 
appropriate one for the book of which 
I am speaking. This is a very instructive and 
amusing book. It explains many things about 
us, and shows " the reason why " they are just 
as they are. It shows the reason why we 
breathe the air about us ; why the air is cool- 
er in motion than when still ; why it flies 
through the doors and windows towards the 
fireplace in a room. It shows " the reason 
why," when we blow soap-bubbles from a pipe, 
they always form in a round shape, and not 
in any other ; why they rise up when we first 

(42) 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 43 



throw them off, and why they fall down after- 
wards ; why they have such beautiful colors 
upon them ; why they change their colors in 
the sunshine, and why they always burst after 
a little while. It shows " the reason why " 
cloudy days are colder than sunny days, while 
cloudy nights are warmer than clear nights. 
It shows " the reason why " the dew is always 
formed in little round drops, upon the leaves 
and grass ; why there is more of it on clear 
nights, than on cloudy nights ; why it is formed 
by night, and not by day, and in some places, 
but not in others. It shows " the reason why " 
the fire burns more brightly when blown by a 
bellows, and why it is sometimes put out by 
blowing it when it is low ; why poking the 
fire makes it burn more brightly ; why it some- 
times burns with a flame, and sometimes with- 
out any. It shows " the reason why " fishes 
have fins ; why their fins are so much smaller 
in proportion than the wings of a bird, and 
why the fishes' tails are so much larger than 
their fins. It shows " the reason why " a boy's 
kite rises in the air ; why running with the kite 



44 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



makes it rise higher ; and why the string feels 
hot while passing rapidly through his hand. 
It shows " the reason why " the leaves of the 
trees are green in spring and summer ; and why 
they turn brown and fall off at the approach 
of winter. It shows " the reason why " the 
rain-drops are sometimes large, and at others 
small ; why it rains more in warm countries 
than in cold, and in mountainous countries 
than in flat ones ; and why ladies' hair drops 
out of curl when rain is approaching. 

There is some good reason for every thing 
that Glod has done. There is a reason why 
the sky is blue, and the grass is green. There 
is a reason why fire always tries to get up 
higher ; while water always tries to get down 
lower. And it is very important for us to try 
and find out the reason for things, as far as we 
can. 

The great philosopher, Sir Isaac Newton, 
was looking at an orchard, one day, when 
he saw an apple fall from a tree. He began 
at once to ask himself the reason why the ap- 
ple, when loosed from the tree, fell to the 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 45 



ground. Hundreds and thousands of people 
had seen apples fall from trees before ; but no- 
body ever thought of asking such a question. 
Sir Isaac Newton not only ashed the question, 
but he tried to find out the answer to it. And 
he kept on trying till he did find it out. Yes, 
and more than that, too ; for out of that fall- 
ing apple he made one of the greatest discov- 
eries that was ever made. He found out from 
it the reason why the world goes round in its 
orbit ; and why it keeps its place securely in 
the heavens, without falling ; though there is 
nothing under it to keep it up, and no great 
chain let down from above for it to hang upon. 

Now we are to have our second sermon on 
the first commandment. There were two ques- 
tions started by this commandment. One of 
these was ; — What is it to have a God ? This 
we tried to answer in the last sermon. The 
other is ; — Why should ice have no other gods 
than the Lord ? This is the one we are to talk 
about now. The subject of this sermon, then, 
is, " The reason why " we should have no other 
gods than the Lord. 



46 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



I wish to speak of three reasons. The first 
reason is, because it is very foolish to do so. 

God is too rich for any one to take His place. 
He is the richest of all beings. All the gold 
and silver, all the gems and jewels and pre- 
cious things in the world, and in all other 
worlds, belong to Him. He has need of them 
to supply the wants of His creatures. It is 
very foolish to have any one else than the Lord 
for our God, because no one else is rich 
enough to be our G-od. 

Did you ever go into a large jeweller's 
store, like Bailey and Kitchen's in Chest- 
nut street ? If you look into the glass cases 
you find there gold rings, breast-pins, neck- 
laces, head-dresses, pearls, diamonds, and jew- 
els of various kinds ; watches, and time- 
pieces, gold and silver goblets, and cups, and 
plates, and all sorts of vessels. How very 
valuable such a store must be ! What a great 
amount of money it would take to pay for all 
those things ! Now, suppose you are going 
down Chestnut street some day. You see a 
little fellow who has just been put, for the first 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



47 



time, in jacket and trowsers. He feels very 
large. His uncle lias given Mm a new quarter 
dollar piece. He never had so much money 
before in his life. He feels as rich as Croesus. 
As you pass along he is standing before Bailey 
and Kitchen's window, with his hand in his 
pocket, holding fast on to his quarter; and 
you hear him say to his little companion ; — 

" I say, Rob, I've got a bran new quarter, and 
I'm going to buy all the things in this shop S" 
You look on the little fellow as you smile, and 
say, " Poor, foolish child, you are not rich 
enough to buy out that store." And yet he 
would not be half so foolish, to think of doing 
this with a quarter, as we are when we think 
that any one else than the Lord is rich enough 
to be our God. 

God is too great for any one to take his 
place. He is the greatest of all beings. An 
infidel once met a plain countryman on a Sun- 
day. He asked the farmer where he was go- 
ing. He answered, " I am going to church." 

" What do you go to church for ?" asked the 
infidel. 



•±8 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



" To worship God," said the farmer. 

" Pray, tell me/' said he, thinking to make 
sport of the man, " whether your God is a lit- 
tle god, or a great god." 

" He is both, sir," answered the farmer. " He 
is so little that He can dwell in my poor 
heart ; and at the same time so great that the 
heavens, and the heaven of heavens can not 
contain Him." 

How foolish it is to think of putting any 
body in the place of this great God ! How 
foolish it would be to blot out the sun from 
the sky, and then try to light up the world 
with candles ! Yet it would be easier to do 
this than to put any thing in the place of God* 

There was a good and learned man once, 
who was very much perplexed by trying to ex- 
plain to himself the doctrine of the Trinity. 
He wanted to understand how the Father is 
God, and the Son is God. and the Holy Ghost 
is God, — while yet there are not three Gods, 
but one God. " The reason why " this is so 
nobody can tell. God has not told us the 
reason, and no one can find it out. The Bible 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 49 

requires us to believe this ; but it does not re- 
quire us to understand it. But the good man 
that I refer to, wanted to understand it, as well 
as believe it. He kept thinking about it all 
the time ; and was very unhappy because he 
could not understand all about it. One day, 
while still thinking very earnestly about this 
matter, he took a walk along the sea-shore. 
As he went on, he saw a little child, playing 
on the sand. He stopped, when he came to 
the child, and watched its motions. The little 
thing had scooped out a hole in the sand, 
about as big as a quart bowl, and, with a tiny 
shell, it was baling the sea-water into the hole. 
" What are you doing, my child ? ;? asked the 
man. The little thing looked up to him, with 
a smile, and said, "I am trying to put the 
ocean into this hole, sir." 

He thought of the immense ocean, miles in 
depth, and thousands of miles in breadth ; then 
he looked at the very small hole before him, 
and said to himself, " Poor^ foolish child ! n 
But, as he walked on, he thought, ' Well, what 
am I doing but just acting over again the part 
5 



50 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



of this child. My mind is like the little hole 
the child has dug ; while God is thousands of 
times greater than the ocean ; and yet, like 
the child, I am trying to put the great ocean 
in the little hole of my mind !' 

Then he determined not to trouble himself 
any more about this ; but to be satisfied with 
believing what the Bible teaches about God, 
without trying to understand it. 

Now, suppose that the bed of the ocean were 
empty. Suppose that all the water in it were 
dried up, and that you should meet a person, go- 
ing to the shore, of what used to be the ocean, 
carrying a tea- cup full of water. You say to 
him ; — " My friend, what are you going to do 
with that cup of water ?" He says, " Why, I am 
going to make an ocean out of it. I am going 
to fill up the bed of the ocean with this water." 
Wouldn't you think that person very foolish ? 
Certainly. And yet he would not be half so 
foolish as those who try to put any thing else 
in the place of God. It would be easier to 
fill the bed of the ocean with a cup of water, 
than to fill God's place with any one but Him- 



THE FIB ST COMMANDMENT. 51 



self. It is very foolish to try to put any one in 
God's place, because He is so great. 

And then God is too toise for any one to take 
His place. How strange it is, that any body 
should ever think of putting stupid idols, of 
wood or stone, in the place of God ! 

I was reading an interesting account, the oth- 
er day> of the way in which two little Chinese 
children were made to see the folly of doing this. 
Their parents were dead, and they were left to 
the care of an aunt, and grandmother. Their 
aunt had a wooden idol, in the house, which 
they all worshipped. The little boy's name 
was San, and his sister's name was Kim. They 
were both placed in a mission school. The 
teacher of - the school wanted to show these 
children the folly of praying to a dumb idol. 
One day she gave them a beautiful flower, like 
a rose, to smell. They were delighted with 
its fragrance. Then she held out a fruit to 
smell, which grows in those parts. It had a 
horrible smell, just as if it were made up of 
rotten eggs and onions. At the very first 
snuff they turned away their heads, and made 



52 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



all sorts of queer faces. Then she said she 
did not think their idol could tell the differ- 
ence, between the smell of the flower and the 
fruit. After this she took a large needle, from 
her pincushion, and asked the children to let 
her stick it into their arms. They instantly 
drew back their arms, and said • — 

" Oh! no, ma'am ; it'll hurt us, and make the 
blood come." Then she said she didn't think 
it would hurt their idol, or make the blood 
come, to stick it into him. 

As they were going home from school, San 
told his sister that he was going to try, if it 
was true, what their teacher had said. He 
wanted to find out whether their idol did know 
any thing. 

His sister was afraid some dreadful thing 
would happen to him, and she endeavored 
to persuade him to give it up. But San 
said he was bound to try. So, when they 
reached home, they went, by themselves, into 
the room where the idol was. He was fas- 
tened to a shelf, up against the wall. They 
pushed the table under it. Then San stood on 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 53 



the table and held up the flower to the idol ; 
but he took no notice of it. Then he held 
the nasty-smelling fruit, janinied up against his 
nose : but he never moved his head, or showed 
the least sign of displeasure. 

" Well, Kim," said San, " it's very certain 
he don't know any thing about smelling. Let's 
try if he has any feeling." 

Then he hunted about till he found a sharp 
iron, like a skewer. Poor Kim was dreadful- 
ly frightened, when she saw her brother go up 
to the idol with this in his hand. She stood 
trembling like a leaf. San was a good deal 
frightened too, but still he resolved to try. 
He got up on the table again. There stood 
the idol, with his great fat cheeks sticking out. 
San grasped the sharp iron firmly in his hand, 
and struck it right into one of his cheeks. 
There was no cry ; no motion ; no blood. 

" The teacher 's right," said San. " He don't 
know any thing." 

Then he saw how foolish it was to put such 
a stupid block in the place of God. He deter- 
mined not to worship him any more. He per- 
5* 



54 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



suaded his aunt and grandmother to do the 
same ; and they all at last became Christians, 
and had no other gods but the Lord. 

You have all heard about that mammoth 
steamer, the Great Eastern. She is larger than 
Noah's ark was ; and can carry ten thousand 
men, with provisions for six months. Suppose 
we should go on board of her. We go down in- 
to her engine-room, and look at her machinery. 
There are wheels, and beams, and rods, and 
shafts, and boilers, and valves, and cylinders. 
All these are necessary to make the vessel go. 
The most important person on board that ves- 
sel is the engineer. He understands all about 
the machinery. He knows how to keep every 
thing in order, and make it work. But, sup- 
pose the owners of the boat, just before she 
started, on her voyage across the ocean, should 
take the engineer away, and put a wooden man 
in his place. He can neither see, nor hear, 
nor move, nor speak. Would not that be very 
foolish ? 

But look at your body. That is an en- 
gine much more curious than the one in the 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 55 



Great Eastern. It lias more pieces in it, and 
they are more wisely joined together. There 
is a boiler in it, and a furnace. There are 
pipes, and joints, and hinges, and rods, and 
tubes, and wheels, and pumps. They are in 
motion all the time. They never stop. Every 
boy and girl, every man and woman, is such 
an engine. There are hundreds of them in 
this church. There are ten hundred millions 
of them in the world. There is o^ly one En- 
gineer, who builds and takes care of them all. 
God is that Engineer. Oh ! how wise He must 
be, and how powerful, to be able to take care 
of them all, at the same time ! How very fool- 
ish to think of putting any one else in His 
place I To put a wooden man in the engi- 
neer's place on board the Great Eastern 
would not be half so foolish as to think of 
putting any one in God's place. 

The first reason why we ought not to do this, 
is, because it is so very foolish. 
• The second reason why we ought to have no 
other gods than the Lord is, because it is very 
injurious. 



56 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



To have any other god than the Lord is inju- 
rious in two ways : one way in which it is so is, 
that it leaves us without help. 

Would n't it be very injurious to a sick man 
to leave him in a place where he could get 
no physician, no medicine, and no nurse ? 
Would n't it be very injurious to a hungry man 
to leave him in a position where he could get 
no food ? 

You knGw that in Switzerland, there are, 
what are called, glaciers. These are like 
mountain-rivers, frozen down to the very bot- 
tom. They have many splits, or cracks in 
them, as wide as one of those aisles. Some- 
times travellers slip, and fall down one of these 
cracks, seventy, or eighty, or a hundred feet 
deep. Now, suppose a poor man down at the 
bottom of one of those ice cracks. It would 
be very injurious to him if the friends, he was 
trusting to, to get him out, had no rope, long 
enough, to reach him ; or strong enough to pull 
him up. 

Now these different cases are images of our 
condition. Sin has made our souls sick ; and 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



57 



it is very injurious to have any other god than 
the Lord, because He is the only one who can 
be our physician ; and provide the medicine 
and nursing we need to make us well again. 
Sin has left our souls hungry and starving, and 
it is very injurious to have any other god than 
the Lord, because He alone can give us that 
bread, which cometh down from heaven, and, 
which can satisfy the cravings of our hungry 
souls. Sin has cast us into a pit, more dread- 
ful than any to be found among the glaciers 
of Switzerland. It is very injurious to have 
any other god than the Lord, because He only 
is able to lift us out from this pit. 

Among the many thousands of false gods wor- 
shipped in China, two of the principal are Con- 
fucius and Buddha. A Chinese,who had become 
a Christian, made use of this simple, but inter- 
esting, fable, or allegory, to illustrate the differ- 
ence between Confucius, or Buddha, and Jesus 
Christ. He said ; — 

" A man had fallen into a deep, dark pit. 
He lay on its miry bottom, wounded, and 
bleeding ; groaning piteously, and utterly un- 



58 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



able to rise. Confucious, walking by, ap- 
proached the edge of the pit, and said ; — 

'Poor fellow! I am very sorry for you. 
Why were you such a fool as to get in there ? 
Let me give you a piece of advice ; — If you 
ever get out, don't fall in again.' 

" I can't get out," groaned the unfortunate 
man. 

A Buddhist priest came by next ; he leaned 
over, and gazed awhile at the suffering man, 
and said, " Poor fellow ! I am very much 
pained to see you there : I think if you could 
manage to scramble up two-thirds of the way, 
or even half, I could reach you, and lift you up 
the rest." 

But the man in the pit was entirely helpless. 
He could not stand upon his feet, or even 
move a limb. 

Next, Jesus came by. He heard the cries. 
He went to the very brink of the pit. He 
reached down His Almighty arm. He took 
hold of the poor man. He brought him 
up " out of the horrible pit, and the miry 
clay." He healed his wounds. He set his feet 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 59 



upon a rock, and established his goings, and 
said unto him, " Go, and sin no more." 

This is one way in which it is injurious to 
have any other god than the Lord. It haves 
us without help. 

The other way is this ; — it exposes us to 

MANY TROUBLES. 

We are told in the Bible " Their sorrows 
shall be greatly multiplied who go after other 
gods." And we read in another place that 
" The dark places of the earth are full of the 
habitations of cruelty." All the cruelties of 
heathen lands result from their having taken 
other gods than the Lord. Thousands of 
widows have been burned on the funeral piles 
of their husbands ; and multitudes of children 
have been buried alive, or been thrown to the 
wild beasts to be devoured ; and all these 
cruelties have been occasioned by having other 
gods than the Lord. 

Suppose we go to a certain mountain-region 
in India, inhabited by a tribe of people called 
Khunds. They have another god than the 
Lord. They worship a cruel, blood-thirsty 



60 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



goddess. The people think that she loves to 
prevent their corn from growing, and to do 
them all the mischief she can. They try to 
please her, that she may send them good crops. 
They think that she delights in blood. And 
what pleases her most is, not the blood of 
calves, or goats, but, human blood ; — the blood 
of boys and girls.. Sometimes they steal chil- 
dren, but more frequently they buy them, be- 
cause they fancy that their goddess likes those 
best for whom a price has been paid. These 
are their victims. They take care of them, 
and feed them well, till they grow fat. Then, 
just before the time comes for sowing th oil- 
fields, they hold a festival ; and make a sacrifice 
to their goddess. Multitudes of people come 
together. A boy or a girl, who has been fat- 
tened for the occasion, is brought out, and tied 
to a tree. Dressed in their holiday-clothes, 
the people dance, and sing, around the tree. 
Presently the priest gives a signal ; the people 
rush upon the poor child, with sharp knives, and 
cut off pieces of his quivering flesh, which they 
bury in their fields to ensure a plentiful crop. 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



61 



How dreadful this is ! English mission- 
aries are trying to stop this horrible work. 
They have opened schools for the reception of 
the poor children rescued from this cruel fate. 
In the course of two years five hundred and 
forty- seven children were snatched from this 
dreadful death. All this misery is caused by 
having other gods than the Lord. If we could 
have stood in the field, where one of these awful 
sacrifices took place, and have heard the fearful 
screams of the poor child, who was thus being 
cut to pieces, ah ! then we should have under- 
stood how very injurious it is to have any 
other god but the Lord. 

But it is not only the heathen who break 
this commandment, and feel the evil of it. All, 
who are not Christians, have some other god 
but the Lord. And all, who do this, will be 
made to feel how very injurious it is. When 
trouble and sorrow come upon them they will 
have none to comfort them. When their sins 
press upon them, as a heavy burden, they will 
have none who can give them pardon, and so 
lift off that burden. When they come to die, 
6 



62 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



they will have no one to lean on, as they go 
through the dark valley. At the judgment 
seat they will have no one to be their friend. 
In eternity they will have nothing to make 
them happy. And there they will be learning, 
for ever and ever, how sad a thing it is to have 
any other god than the Lord. It is very in- 
jurious. 

The third and last reason is, that it is very 
wicked. 

There are two things about this which show 
how wicked it is. There is robbery in it. And 
it is not robbing our friends, or our relations, 
or our fellow-creatures, or the angels of 
heaven. Any of these would be bad enough ; 
but this is worse than all of them put together. 
It is robbing God! Our affections belong to 
God. We ought to love Him more than any 
one else ; but if we have some other god than 
the Lord, we don't love Him at all. This is 
robbing Him of our affections. 

Our praises belong to God. He is worthy 
to be praised. We ought to praise Him con- 
tinually, for all the mercies He bestows upon 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 63 



us. But if we have some other god than the 
Lord, we don't praise Him at all. This is rob- 
bing Him of the praises which belong to Him. 

Our obedience belongs to God. He expects 
us to obey Him. It is right that we should 
do so. Is it not right for children to obey 
their father ? But God is our Father, and it 
is right to obey Him. Is it not right for ser- 
vants to obey their master ? But God is our 
Master, and it is right to obey Him. Is it 
not right for subjects to obey their king ? But 
God is our King. He is the great and glorious 
King of angels as well as of men. He is 
" King of kings and Lord of lords." But 
if we have any other god than the Lord, 
we do not obey Him. We rob Him of the 
obedience which belongs to Him as our Father, 
our Master, our King. Can any thing be 
more wicked than this ? The prophet Malachi 
asks the question with great surprise : " Will 
a man rob God? " It is dreadful to think of 
such a thing ! and yet there are multitudes of 
people who do it. We ought to have no other 
gods but the Lord. It is very wicked to do 



64 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



so. One reason why it is so wicked is, because 
there is robbery in it. 

But there is another reason why it is very 
wicked. It is so because there is treason in it. 
Perhaps some of you don't know what treason 
means. In countries that are governed by 
kings, it is considered treason if a person tries 
to kill the king ; or if he unites with other 
persons to overturn the government, and try 
to set up another king, this would be con- 
sidered as treason. In this country, where 
we have no king, if persons make war against 
the government ; or if a general, who has 
charge of a fort, should deliver it up to the 
enemies of his country, that act would be re- 
garded as treason. 

For example, all of you, who are acquainted 
with the history of the American Revolution, 
remember reading about Benedict Arnold. 
He was a general in the American army, and 
a very brave man. In the early part of the 
revolutionary war he fought many battles for 
his country ; and gained a great deal of honor 
and glory for himself as a soldier. But after 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 65 

a while he was tried for some misconduct. He 
was found guilty of behaving improperly ; and 
ordered to be reproved by General Washing- 
ton. This made him very angry ; and, in order 
to revenge himself, he resolved to betray the 
fortress of West Point, on the Hudson river, 
into the hands of the British. That was one 
of the most important forts in the country. If 
he had succeeded, it would have been one of 
the very worst things that happened to the 
Americans, in all that long war. Arnold had 
written to the general of the English army 
about it. He had agreed to give him a large 
sum of money when they got possession of 
West Point. The arrangements were all made, 
and just about to be executed, when the plot 
was discovered ; and Arnold had to escape for 
his life, and join the British army. This act 
brought great disgrace upon the name of Ar- 
nold. He is always spoken of as " the traitor." 
The attempt to put a fort, belonging to his coun- 
try, into the hands of her enemies, was treason. 
And this shows what is meant by saying that 
there is treason in having any other god but the 
6* 



66 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Lord. Those who do this are acting towards 
God, in just the same way in which Arnold 
acted towards his country. He had a fort 
committed to his care, which "belonged to his 
country. No body had any right to that fort 
but his country. The flag of his country 
waved over its walls, and battlements. But 
Arnold was willing to see that flag hauled 
down, and the red cross of England un- 
furled in its place. He was willing to give 
it all over into the hands of George the 
Third, the king of England. This was his 
treason. 

But every one of us has a heart, or soul, com- 
mitted to his care. This may be compared to 
the fortress at West Point, entrusted to the 
care of Arnold. It belongs to God. No one 
else has any right to it. His flag should 
wave over it. His law should be obeyed in it. 
But if we have any one else than the Lord for 
our God, we betray the fortress, that belongs 
to God, into the hands of His enemies ; and un- 
furl the banner of rebellion over it. This is 
treason towards God. It is being a traitor to 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. ( 67 

Him. It is just acting towards Him as Ar- 
nold acted towards his country. How dread- 
ful this is to think of ! If General Washington 
had caught Arnold, after he knew of his treach- 
ery, he would have hung him on the gallows, 
like a murderer. Treason is the greatest crime 
that a person can commit against his country. 
In former times, when a person guilty of trea- 
son was caught, he was carried to the place 
of execution in an open cart. Then he was 
hung. Then his head was cut off, and his body 
cut up into four pieces. This was done to 
show the greatness of his crime. 

And as treason is the greatest crime against 
our country, so it is the greatest sin we can 
commit against our God. Yes, yes, my dear 
children, it is very wicked to have any other 
gods but the Lord. There is robbery in it ; and 
there is treason in it. 

Thus we have considered three reasons why 
we should have no other god but the Lord. 
It is very foolish ; very injurious ; and very 
wicked to do so. 

I do not stop to ask if any of you are guilty 



68 the king's highway. 

of this great sin. We are all guilty of it, till 
we are converted, and become Christians. If 
Jesus has not changed your hearts, and made 
you His children, you are all guilty of this 
great sin. You have some other god than the 
Lord. You have surrendered, the fortress of 
your heart, to the power and authority of the 
enemy of God. You are in rebellion against 
Him. The banner of rebellion is waving over 
the fortress of your heart. What will you do ? 
Oh ! haul down that flag. Open your heart to 
Jesus ! He wants you to do this. He says : 
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock : if 
any man hear my voice, and open unto me, I 
will come in, and sup with him." Jesus wants 
your heart ; and Satan wants it. Whose shall 
it be? 

If you want to know to what country a 
fort or town belongs, you look to the flag 
that waves over it. That shows whose it is. 
And so it is with our hearts. But what are 
the flags of our hearts? Why, our actions. 
These show whose we are, and whom we serve. 
Jesus said, " Ye are my friends, if ye do what- 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 69 

soever I command you.' 1 When we do what 
Jesus wants us to do, we hoist His flag. When 
we do wrong ; when we get angry, or break 
the Sabbath, or disobey our parents, then 
we hang out Satan's flag. Shall he be our 
master ? Shall we do his work ? Shall he 
be our god ? Oh ! let us pray for God to 
help us tear down Satan's flag, and to keep 
the flag of Jesus over us. In the language 
of the hymn we are about to sing, let us 
say 

" Lord, in Thy name appearing, 
We come on bended knee : 
Oh ! teach us how to worship 
No other God but Thee !" 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



HYMN ON THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

There are no gods but One ; yet we, 
A thousand things may take, 

And set them on our spirit's throne, 
And thus a god may make. 

That is our god, which most we love ; 

And which, could we possess, 
Would make us all the fulness prove, 

Of earthly happiness. 

Pleasure, or dress, or selfish ease, 

May be a god to me ; 
For thousands, Lord, bestow on these 

The love they owe to Thee ! 

But how shall these our spirits cheer, 
When care or sorrow's nigh ? 

How can they bring the Saviour near, 
When we are called to die ? 

Then rule Thou only in my mind ! 

Thine only let me be ! 
And, loving all men, let me find 

No other god hut Thee ! 



III. 



" Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness 
of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, 
or that is in the water under the earth : 

" Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them : for I the 
Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers 
upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that 
hate me : 

"And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep 
my commandments."— Exodus xx. 4-6. 



F you should go to a new school, to 
which you had never been before, one 
of the first questions you would ask your 

f teacher would be, What must I do, sir ? 
And when your teacher had opened the 
book you were to study, and marked out your 
lesson, the next question you would want to 
ask would be, How must I learn it ? Am I just 
to read it over ? or, am I to say it in my own 
words ? or, must I commit it to memory, and 
say it word for word, just as it is in the 
book? What you were to learn, and how 

(71) 



12 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



you were to learn it, would be very important 

questions. 

When God brought the Israelites to Mount 
Sinai, as I told you in the first seru.on on the 
commandments, they were taken, as it were, to 
a new school. God was their Teacher. He 
came down, upon the top of Mount Sinai, in the 
midst of thunder and lightning, to teach them. 
The first lesson they had to learn was about 
worship. What must we worship? was the 
question. The first commandment answered 
this. It told them they were to worship the 
Lord their God, and no one else. 

Then the next lesson they had to learn was, 
Hoiv must we worship the Lord ? The second 
commandment answers this question. The first 
commandment points out the true object of wor- 
ship : the second points out the true manner 
of worship. One shows us wliom we are to 
worship ; the other shows us lioiv we are to 
worship. 

The second commandment is our subject 
this afternoon. It teaches us how ice are to 
worship God. Now, there are two questions 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 73 



that we must try to answer in considering this 
commandment. 

The first question is this : What does this 
commandment forbid ? The second is : Why 



What does this commandment forbid? 

It forbids the use of images and pictures in 



Let us see what this commandment says : 
It says, " Thou shalt not make unto thee any 
graven image." "A graven image," of old 
time, is the same that we should now call a 
carved image. A graver, then, was the same 
as a carver now. And a carver, we know, is 
one who carves, or makes images, or figures 
out of wood. The figure-heads of men, or wo- 
men, or other objects that we see on the bows 
of ships and other vessels, are graven, or carved 
images. And so are the figures of Indians 
that we see, as signs, in front of certain stores. 
Or the graven image might have been made 
of stone. Then we should call the maker of 
it a sculptor ; and we should speak of such an 



does it forbid this ? 




74 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



image as a statue. A graven image might 
have been made either of wood or stone. 

We often read, too, in the Bible, of molten 
images, though they are not mentioned in the 
commandment. A molten image was one made 
out of melted metal, such as iron, or brass, or 
gold, or silver. 

But the commandment speaks of a " likeness 
of any thing," as well as of an image. What 
does it say about this ? " Thou shalt not make 
unto thee . . . any likeness of any thing 
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth 
beneath, or that is in the water under the 
earth." 

The likeness, here spoken of, means a pic- 
ture, or painting of any thing. Hanging up 
in the Hall of Independence, in Chestnut street, 
is a painted portrait of General Washington. 
We call this a likeness of Washington. In 
that same hall are portraits of William Penn, 
of Franklin, and Lafayette, and other great 
men, distinguished in the early history of our 
country. These are all called likenesses. 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 75 



There is also in that hall a statue of Wash- 
ington carved out of wood. That is a " gra- 
ven image " of Washington. But is it wrong 
to have that " graven image," or those like- 
nesses there ? Is that breaking the second com- 
mandment? No. Does anybody ever go there 
to worship that image of Washington ? No. 
Does anybody ever go into that hall to 
worship the likeness of William Penn? or 
Lafayette? or Franklin? No. This com- 
mandment only forbids us having images, or 
liknesses, for the purpose of worshipping 
them. It does not forbid us to have images, 
or statues, or paintings, just to look at, and ad- 
mire, for the beauty of their form, or for the 
wonderful way in which they are made to look 
like real persons, or things. 

There is a building in Chestnut street, be- 
tween Tenth and Eleventh, called " The Acade- 
my of Fine Arts." This is full of graven images, 
and molten images, and the likenesses of things 
in heaven,. and things on earth, and things in 
the water under the earth. There are many 
pieces of beautiful sculpture there ; statues, or 



76 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



images in plaster, and brass, and marble ; and 
many interesting paintings. But it is not 
wrong to have them, because they are not put, 
or kept, there for people to worship them, but 
only to look at, and admire. And it is only 
having images or pictures to worship, that the 
commandment forbids. It is not having them 
that is forbidden by the commandment, but 
making a wrong use of them. 

But suppose, now, that some one should say 
to you that he believed it was wrong to have 
images or paintings at all, even though they 
were not worshipped. And suppose this per- 
son should try to persuade you to go home 
and destroy all the images or paintings in 
your dining-rooms, how could you prove 
clearly that he was wrong ? 

Let me show you. The second commandment 
says, we must not have images or pictures to 
worship them ; but this does not mean that we 
are not to have them for any other purposes. 
For in another place in the Bible (Deut. iv. 19) 
God says we must not look upon the sun, and the 
moon, and the stars to worship them. Now, is 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 77 

it wrong to look at the sun, and moon, and 
stars ? Of course not. Why, we can not help 
looking at them, unless we pluck our eyes out, 
or keep them shut all the time. Oh ! no, they 
are glorious objects. It does us good to look 
at them, and think about them. When you 
look at a beautiful star in the heavens at 
night, how often you are ready to take up 
those simple words and say ; — 

" Twinkle, twinkle, little star ! 
How I wonder what you are." 

David used often to look up to the stars, when 
he was watching his sheep, in the fields of Beth- 
lehem ; and he felt that it did him good. It 
was this feeling that led him to write the words 
of that beautiful Psalm (viii. 3, 4,) in which he 
says ; — 

" When I consider the heavens, the work of 
Thy fingers ; the moon and the stars which 
Thou hast ordained ; what is man that Thou art 
mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou 
visitest him ? " Looking at the heavens made 
David feel humbled. And so it will help to 
7* 



78 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



make any body feel. People in old time car- 
ried this feeling so far that when they looked 
npon the sun, and moon, and stars, they wor- 
shipped them. God forbade the Israelites to 
do this. But nobody is so foolish as to sup- 
pose that this is intended to forbid people 
looking at the heavenly bodies for any other 
purpose. And if you admit this, then you 
must admit that the commandment which for- 
bids our having images, or paintings, for the 
purpose of worshipping them, does not forbid 
our having them for other purposes. 

But, when the heathen make images of their 
gods, and then kneel down and worship them, 
do they break this commandment ? Yes. And 
when the Roman Catholics make crucifixes — 
images of the Saviour on the cross, — or images 
of the Virgin Mary, or pictures of the saints, 
and bow down before them in worship, is this 
breaking the second commandment ? Yes. 

Those who pray to the virgin and the saints, 
think that they will be more ready to hear 
their prayers than the blessed Saviour Himself; 
but is not this a great mistake ? 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



79 



A Romish priest was once talking to a clever 
boy, belonging to his parish, who had been 
attending a Protestant school, in the neighbor- 
hood. The priest tried to persuade him to give 
up his Testament, and pray to the virgin, to 
take care of him, and keep him from danger 
and harm. 

" Plase, your riverence," said the boy, " I 
rade in the gospel that when the Virgin was 
on earth, in going home from Jerusalem she 
lost her son. She couldn't tell where he had 
gone, and was three days before she found him. 
Now, if she couldn't take better care than that 
of her own child, who was so near to her, 
faith, and I'm thinking its mighty leetle care 
she'll take of me, who am so far away from 
her!" 

There was a Scotch nobleman, once, who was 
a Roman Catholic. He was very rich ; but 
lived a retired life, and left the management 
of his affairs, very much, in the hands of his 
steward, and other servants. One of his ten- 
ants, named Donald, was a pious Protestant. 
He rented a farm from the nobleman, on which 



80 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



his forefathers had lived above two hundred 
years. The lease, by which he held the farm, 
was on the point of expiring, and the steward 
refused to allow Donald to renew it, intending 
to give it to a friend of his own. Poor Donald 
was greatly distressed, at the thought of being 
turned out from his home. He tried, every ar- 
gument in his power, to induce the steward to 
let him remain on the farm; but in vain. At 
last he resolved to make the case known to his 
lordship himself, feeling sure that he would 
grant his request. But when he applied at the 
castle door he was sent away; the steward 
having given orders that he was not to be ad- 
mitted. 

Donald was almost in despair. Finally, 
however, he resolved upon a bold step. He 
climbed over the garden wall, and, entering a 
private door, made his way, unobserved, to- 
wards the apartments of the nobleman. As 
he drew near he heard his lordship's voice en- 
gaged in prayer. He waited till he should 
conclude, and while doing so distinctly heard 
him pleading earnestly with the Virgin Mary, 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 81 

and St. Francis," to intercede with the Father 
and Son in his behalf. 

After the voice ceased, Donald knocked 
gently, at the door, and was admitted. He 
told the simple tale of his distress. The kind- 
hearted nobleman was much affected by his 
statement. He assured him, at once, that his 
lease should be renewed, and himself and 
family protected from the resentment of the 
steward. Donald was delighted with the suc- 
cess of his plan. He poured forth his warmest 
thanks to his generous benefactor, and was 
about to take his departure, when a feeling of 
anxiety for his gracious patron took possession 
of his mind, and he thought he would try and 
speak a word to him, that, by G-od's blessing, 
might do him good. 

" My lord/' said he, "I have been a bold 
man in venturing into your presence, but you 
have forgiven me, and saved me and my fam- 
ily from ruin : I would again be a bold man, and 
speak a word, by your lordship's permission." 

" Well, Donald, speak out," said the noble- 
man. 



82 



THE KING S HIGHWAY. 



" My lord," replied Donald, " as I stood 
waiting at your door, I heard you praying, with 
great earnestness, to the Virgin Mary and St. 
Francis ; you seemed to be very unhappy. 
Now, my lord, forgive me, but I can not help 
thinking that the Virgin Mary and St. Francis 
will do you but little good. I should have 
been a ruined man if I had trusted to your 
servants : I came direct to your lordship, and 
you heard me. Now, if you would but leave 
the Virgin Mary and St. Francis, who, I am 
convinced, will do no more for you than your 
steward would for me, and just go directly to 
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and pray for 
what you need, He will hear you, and grant 
you the desires of your heart : for He has 
said in His Word, ' Him that cometh unto me 
I will in no wise cast out.' " 

We are not told what the effect of Donald's 
appeal was ; but certainly his argument was a 
good one ; and we may hope that it led the 
nobleman to see the folly of applying to the 
servants, when he might go at once to the 
Master : the folly of praying to the saints, 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 83 



when he had the privilege of praying to Jesus, 
the Lord of all the saints. 

Thus I have tried to answer the first ques- 
tion : .What does this commandment forbid? 

It forbids the use of images, or pictures in our 
worship. 

We now come to the second question. This 
is : Why does the commandment forbid this ? 

The reason, or cause, begins with the word 
"for" in the commandment. God says, " Thou 
shalt not make unto thee any graven image, 
&c.,/or (or because) I, the Lord thy God, am 
a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the 
fathers upon the children, unto the third and 
fourth generation of them that hate me ; and 
showing mercy unto thousands of them that 
love me and keep my commandments." 

Now, when we come to look at this part of 
the commandment, we find there are three rea- 
sons in it. The first reason why we are not 
to use images and pictures in our worship is, 
because the Lord is a jealous God. 

The Bible speaks to us of God as if He 
were like ourselves. And the reason of this 



84 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



is, that we could not understand what was 
said of Him, if it spoke about Him in any 
other way. For instance, in one place in the 
Bible God says, that " all day long He has 
stretched out His hands to His people." But 
has God any hands ? No. But if you want 
to invite a child towards you, you stretch out 
your hands and say, " Come." This is an in- 
viting act. It shows that you want the child 
to come to you. And so when God wants His 
people to come to Him, He says He stretches 
out His hands. 

In another place in the Bible God speaks 
of putting His " everlasting arms " about His 
people. But has God any arms ? No. But 
when a mother puts her arms around her child, 
she does it to show her love and care for it, 
and her desire to protect it from harm. And 
so, when God would show how He loves, and 
cares for His people, and intends to protect 
them, He speaks of putting His everlasting- 
arms about them. 

There is a passage in the Bible which tells 
us that " the eyes of the Lord are in every 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



8;^ 



place." Now, has God any eyes ? No. But 
when we say that our eye is in a certain place 
or on a certain thing, we mean to say that we 
know about that place or thing. For instance, 
my eye is on that pew. I know who are in it. 
My eye is on that door ; I know if any one 
comes in, or goes out. My eye is on that boy, 
or that girl ; I know what he or she is doing. 
And so when we read that God's eye is " in 
every place," it means that He knows all 
that is done in every place. 

The Bible sometimes speaks of God as be- 
ing angry. Now God is never really angry. 
But He acts in a similar way to that in which 
men act when they are angry ; and there is no 
other way in which we can understand this 
than by saying that He is angry- Here, for 
example, is a little boy who tells a lie. His 
father hears of it. He is angry, and punishes 
the boy. So, when God punishes His people 
for their sins, He acts in the same way in which 
a man acts when he is angry, and we can only 
understand it by saying that He is angry. 

And just so, in this commandment, the Lord 
8 



86 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



is spoken of as " a jealous God." This means 
that God feels and acts very much as men do 
when they are jealous. Now there are two 
kinds of jealousy. One is a wrong feeling, 
the other is right. 

For instance, here is a little girl, four or 
five years old. She is the only child in the 
family. She is loved and petted greatly, by 
her parents. After a while a dear little baby 
comes into that family. But instead of loving 
it, the little girl hates it, and wishes it was 
away. She can't bear to think that her par- 
ents should love any one but herself. She is 
jealous of the baby. But this is a wrong sort 
of jealousy. It is a mean, wicked feeling. Gocl 
is never jealous in this way. 

There is another sort of jealousy. It is 
a good and right feeling. I wonder if I can 
show you just what it is. Let me try. 

Suppose, for instance, you were the king of a 
large island. You love your people very much, 
and they love you. They are all happy and 
prosperous. And suppose that a wicked, good, 
for-nothing man should come to your island, 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 8*7 

and try to steal away the affections of your 
people, and persuade them to make him king 
instead of you. He wants to take away your 
kingdom, and rob and ruin your people. Now 
you might very well feel uncomfortable about 
this man. This feeling would be jealousy. 
It would be a right kind of jealousy. And 
it would lead you to do two things. You 
would watch him very closely. With the eye 
of a lynx you would follow him in all his 
movements. And if you caught him actually 
trying to drawing off the affections of your 
people from you, and stir them up to rebellion, 
oh ! then you would, if in your power, punish 
him how severely ! 

This is something like the feeling in God 
which the commandment calls jealousy. God 
is a great King. All His willing subjects are 
happy. Satan is the wicked, worthless being 
who is trying to take His place and overturn 
His government. One of the ways in which 
he attempts to do this is by drawing men into 
idolatry. Where he can't succeed in getting 
men to practise open idolatry, by giving up 



88 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



the worship of God altogether, he tries to get 
as near this as he can, by persuading them to 
use images, and pictures in their worship. He 
knows that this is contrary to God's com- 
mandment. He knows it is very displeasing 
to God. He knows that all who use these 
images and pictures are doing his (i. e., Satan's) 
work, and helping to make him king instead 
of God. Hence God is jealous of Satan and 
his efforts. He watches him narrowly ; and all 
who try to help him. He feels hurt when 
people lend their influence to Satan, His great 
enemy, and our enemy. And it is right for 
Him to feel so. And He is not only quick to 
see, but strong to punish all who help Satan in 
this matter. 

The commandment forbids us to use images 
or pictures in our worship, because the Lord is 
a jealous God. This is the first reason. 

The second reason is, because if ice break 
God's commandments, others besides ourselves 
must suffer f rom it. 

God says He visits "the iniquity of the 
fathers upon the children, unto the third and 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 89 

fourth generations of them that hate Him." 
This does not mean that the souls of children 
are lost on account of their fathers' sins : but 
it means that sin is such a dreadful thing, that 
if we commit it, it will bring suffering upon 
others, as well as on ourselves, in this life. This 
is God's law. No persons can alter it, any 
more than they can make the sun rise in the 
west and set in the east. 

There is a little infant six months old. It 
has the convulsions. See how wildly its little 
eyes roll ! See how it foams at the mouth ! It 
struggles, and groans, and dies. Poor little 
thing ! How did it come to suffer so ? Had it 
ever committed any sin ? No ; it was too young 
for that. Then what occasioned its sufferings ? 
The sin of Adam, committed six thousand years 
before, was the cause of it. This is very fear- 
ful. You ask me to explain it. I can not do it. 
No one can explain it. And yet no one can 
deny it. Some people find fault with this law. 
But God is wiser than man. He knows best 
what laws to make. We see just the same 



8* 



90 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



kind of laws in other tilings, and no body 
thinks of finding fanlt with these. 

For instance, suppose I own a house in the 
middle of a row of frame houses. Well, my 
house is old, and overrun with rats and vermin. 
I have made up my mind to make a bonfire of 
it, and burn it down. I kindle a fire in the midst 
of it, and very soon it is all in a blaze. Now 
when the fire has done burning my house will 
it stop ? Ah ! no ; it will spread to the house 
next door, and then to the next, till the whole 
row is in flames. God has made it the law 
of fire to spread. Once kindle a flame, and no 
one can tell how soon it will stop. This is 
the law of fire. But have we any right to 
complain? No. It is a good law ; it is the 
best law that can be made ; but it teaches us 
to be careful how we kindle fires. 

Suppose a man takes a keg of gunpowder 
into the midst of a room full of people. He 
says he is tired of living, and wants to kill 
himself. Then he lights a match and thrusts 
it into the powder. Will it just kill him 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 91 

only without others ? No ; the dreadful ex- 
plosion will blow them all up together. It is 
the law God has made, for gunpowder to ex- 
plode in that way. But have we any right to 
complain of this law ? No. It is a good law. 
Powder would be of no use without it. But 
it shows us how careful we should be about 
letting sparks fall into gunpowder. 

Suppose you throw a stone into the air; 
what will become of it? It will fall to the 
ground. That is the law God has made for 
stones and heavy bodies. It is a very good 
law. Suppose we were on the top of one of 
the high mountains in Switzerland. A great 
many people are climbing up the steep side of 
the mountain. Now, if we loosen a great 
mass of rock, and send it rushing down the 
side of the mountain, will it stop when it gets 
near the people ? No ; it will' go thundering 
on, crushing and tearing every thing before it. 
But have we any right to complain that God 
has made it the law of heavy bodies to fall ? 
No ; but knowing this law, we ought to be 
very careful how we loosen great rocks, and 



92 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



throw them down from the tops of mountains. 
And it is just so with sin. Like fire it spreads, 
and rages, and burns, more than those who 
kindle it expected. Like powder, it explodes 
with terrible effect, and injures others than 
those who dropped the spark into it. Like the 
rock, loosened from the mountain-top, it is very 
hard to stop, and will crush all in its path. 
God has made this to be the law of sin, to 
show us how dreadful a thing it is, and to 
make us afraid of breaking His command- 
ments, because it will bring evil on others as 
well as on ourselves. 

This is the second reason why God's law 
forbids us to use images, or pictures, in our 
worship. It brings evil on others as well as 
on ourselves. 

Bnt there is a third reason why the command- 
ment forbids this, namely, because it will bring 
blessings on others, as well as ourselves, if we 
mind it. 

We read here, that the Lord " showeth mer- 
cy to thousands of those who love Him, and 
keep His commandments." 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



93 



Look at good King David. He loved and 
served God faithfully ; and hundreds of years 
after he was dead and buried, God spared the 
people of Israel, many a time, when they de- 
served to be punished, and heaped blessings 
upon them for the sake of David. 

Look at J oseph. You know how God blessed 
Potiphar and his house, and the keeper of the 
prison, and Pharaoh upon his throne, and all 
the land of Egypt, for the sake of Joseph. 

And look at Abraham. He kept God's 
commandments. God told him to offer up 
his darling son, Isaac, for a burnt-offering. 
He went away immediately to do it. God 
blessed him for this, and promised to bless all 
the world through him on account of it. It is 
about four thousand years since Abraham 
obeyed God in this way. And yet we, here 
in this church, to-day, are sharing in that 
blessing. Jesus, our glorious Saviour, was 
Abraham's son, and all the blessings that Jesus 
brings us come through Abraham's obedience. 
And in the same way, God will bless others, 
through us, if we keep His commandments. 



94 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



What a strong motive this is ! Why, we read 
of persons being willing to suffer the great- 
est evils, for the sake of doing good to oth- 
ers. 

In the battle of Sempach, fought between the 
Austrians and the Swiss, before the use of fire- 
arms, a brave Swiss soldier, whose name was 
Arnold Winkelreid, nobly sacrificed his life 
for the sake of his country. The Swiss army 
was very small, and that of the Austrians very 
large. The Austrian front presented such an 
unbroken ridge of spears that the Swiss sol- 
diers could not get at their enemies. So Ar- 
nold told his comrades to follow him, and he 
would open for them, a way to victory. He 
then rushed up to the Austrian front, and 
grasping as many spears as he could reach 
with his outstretched arms, they were thrust 
into his body ; and as he sunk down to the 
earth, pierced through by all those spears, the 
Swiss soldiers pressed into the opening thus 
made, and gained the victory. 

" 1 Make way lor liberty,' he cried ; 
Make way for liberty, and died." 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 95 

Arnold Winkelreid laid down his life for the 
sake of securing blessings for his country. 

You know that in Holland there are large 
parts of the country that lie below the level 
of the sea. The people, in those parts, build 
great walls, or banks of earth, to keep the wa- 
ter from overflowing the country. These banks 
are called dykes. Sometimes these dykes give 
way, and then the water rushes in and over- 
flows the country, destroying much property 
and many lives. 

One night a little boy, in Holland, was re- 
turning home from a village, to which he had 
been sent by his father, on an errand. As 
he was walking along he saw a little hole 
in the dyke, through which the water was 
beginning to run. The hole was so small 
that he could just cover it with his hand. He 
knew that if it was left till morning, the bank 
would be washed away, and the sea would 
rush through, and drown all the village. He 
was even afraid that, if he left it till he ran to 
the village and back again, the opening made 
might be too great to stop, till much damage had 



96 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



been done. So he resolved to stay there and keep 
his hand over the hole, till somebody came by 
whom he could send to tell the villagers of their 
danger. Then he took his stand on the dyke, and 
kept his hand over the place, and waited patient- 
ly for somebody to come. But no one came. 
The shades of evening gathered round : the 
darkness of night settled upon him : still no 
one came. Hour after hour rolled slowly 
away, and there the brave boy stood manfully 
at his post. In cold and darkness, wet, tired, 
and shivering, he remained there, stoutly press- 
ing his hand against the dangerous place. All 
night he remained in that position. At last 
the morning broke. A clergyman, walking on 
the dyke, heard a groan, and looked round to 
see where it came from. 

" What are you doing there, my child ? " he 
asked, seeing the boy, and surprised at his 
strange position. 

"I am keeping the water back, sir, and sav- 
ing the village from being drowned," said the 
boy, with lips so benumbed with cold that he 
could hardly speak. The astonished minister 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 97 

took the boy's place, and sent him to tell the 
villagers. They came and stopped the breach. 
Thus, the boy at the dyke was willing to suffer 
all night for the sake of doing good to his 
friends and neighbors. 

Let me tell you one more story to illustrate 
this part of the subject, before I close. The 
circumstance I am going to tell you took place 
about twenty years ago, at a village called Ra- 
genbach, in Germany. One afternoon a great 
number of the village people were assembled 
in the large room of the inn. There was only 
one door to the room, and that stood open. 
The village blacksmith — a good-natured, pious, 
brave-hearted man — sat near the door, talking 
pleasantly, with some of his neighbors in the 
room. 

All at once, a large dog came and stood 
right in the door. He was a great, powerful 
beast, with a fierce, frightful look. His head 
hung down, his eyes were bloodshot, his great 
red tongue hung half out of his mouth, and 
his tail was dropped between his legs. As 
soon as the keeper of the inn saw him, he 
9 



98 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



turned pale, and exclaimed, " Mercy on us, the 
dog is mad ! " Then the women screamed, and 
there was great confusion in the room. There 
was no way out but by the door in which the 
dog stood, and no one could pass him without 
being bitten. 

" Stand back, my friends," cried the brave 
smith, " till I seize the dog ; then hurry out 
while I hold him. Better for one to perish than 
for all." 

As he said this, he seized the foaming beast 
with an iron grasp, and dashed him on the 
floor. Then a terrible struggle followed. The 
dog bit furiously on every side, in a most 
frightful manner. His long teeth tore the arms 
and thighs of the heroic smith, but he would 
not let go his hold. Unmindful of the great 
pain it caused, and the horrible death which he 
knew must follow, with the grasp of a giant, 
he held down the snapping, biting, howling 
brute, till all his friends had escaped in safety. 
Then he flung the half-strangled beast from 
him against the wall, and dripping with blood 
and venomous foam, he left the room, and 




" He took a strong chain, one end of it be riveted with his own 
hands round his body, the other end he fastened round the anvil." 



King's Highway. 



p. 99. 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



99 



locked the door. The dog was shot through 
the window : but what was to become of the 
brave but unfortunate smith ? 

The friends whose lives he had saved at the 
expense of his own, stood round him, weeping. 
" Be quiet, my friends," he said ; " don't weep 
for me ; I've only done my duty. When I am 
dead, think of me with love ; and now pray for 
me that God will not let me suffer long, or too 
much. I know I shall become mad, but I will 
take care that no harm comes to you through 
me." 

Then he went to his shop. He took a strong 
chain. One end of it he riveted with his own 
hands round his body ; the other end he fas- 
tened round the anvil, so strongly that no 
earthly power could loose it. Then he looked 
round on his friends and said ; — 

" Now it's done. You are all safe. I can't 
hurt you. Bring me food while I am well, and 
keep out of my reach when I am mad ! The 
rest I leave with God." 

Nothing could save the brave smith. Soon 
madness seized him ; and after nine days he 



100 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



died. What a noble fellow ! What a real 
hero that was ! He was willing to endure all 
this for the sake of securing blessings for his 
friends. 

But there is one example better than any of 
these. Think of Jesus. He suffered for more 
than thirty years. He suffered in the garden ; 
he suffered on the cross, that He might secure 
rich, and everlasting blessings, for poor sinners 
such as we are. When we think of J esus ; — 
Arnold Winkelried — the boy at the dyke — 
the smith of Eagenbach, and all other exam- 
ples fade away, like the stars before the sun. 

The third reason why the commandment for- 
bids the worship of images is, because minding 
it will bring blessings on others, as well as on 
ourselves. 

Now we have had two questions before us. 

What does this commandment forbid? and 
Why does it forbid it? Under the second 
question, we have had three reasons ; — The 
first reason is, because God is a jealous God. 
The second is, because others beside ourselves 
must suffer if we don't mind. And the third 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 101 



is, because it will bring blessings on oilers, beside 
ourselves, if tue do mind. 

And now, my dear children, I want eaeli one 
of you to ask yourself this question. How 
can I do the greatest good to myself — to my 
parents — to my brothers and sisters — to my 
country, and to the world ? The answer is very 
short. It is by loving Jesus, and keeping His 
commandments. But you never can do this in 
your own strength. No. But if you ask 
Jesus to give you the help of His grace and 
Spirit, then you will be able to love Him, and 
keep His commandments, and thus secure the 
greatest blessings for yourselves and others ! 



HYMN ON THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



While angels bow before Thee, 

And sing Thy praise above ; 
Lord, teach us to adore Thee, 

And seek Thy pardoning love. 
And while our lips are singing 

The notes we love to raise, 
Oh ! may our hearts be bringing 

A tribute to Thy praise. 

Thou art a God who beareth 
No rival near Thy throne ; 

Yet many a creature shareth 
The love that is Thine own. 



A thousand things around us 
Our idol gods may be : 

And many a tie hath bound ua 
That binds us not to Thee 

But, in His name appealing, 

Who died that we might live ; 
Before Thy footstool kneeling, 

We pray Thee to forgive, 
oh ! help us, now and ever, 

Our hearts on Thee to place ; 
And every tie to sever, 

That draws us from Thy face, 



IV. 



%bt ffrtrir dommsnlniunt. 



"Thou sh alt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for 
the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketli His name in vain." 

— Eoxntr? xx. 7. 




^)HAT do 
Acorns. 



oak trees come from ? 
Yes. we read in our 
primers ; " Tall oaks from little 
acorns grow." But if you plant 
an acorn in the ground to-day, will 
you find an oak tree there to-morrow ? No ; 
it takes the oak a great many years to grow. 
And so when the farmer sows his field with 
wheat it takes it a good while to grow. It 
springs up gradually. There is <; first the 
blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in 
the ear.'' So the river is made up of the 
drops which the rills roll into it ; and the 
ocean is made up of what the rivers pour into it. 
" What are you boys good for ?" asked a 

(102) 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



103 



gentleman one day of some little fellows, who 
were playing at the corner of the street. One 
of them looked np to him with an air of im- 
portance, and said, " We are good to make 
men of, sir." Yes, the tiny baby, in time, 
grows txf be a big boy ; and the big boy, after 
a while, grows to be a man. And so there is 
growth in every thing. When we look at a 
tree, there are first the roots ; then the trunk ; 
then the branches ; and then the leaves and 
fruit. You can not have the leaves without the 
branches. You can not have the branches 
without the trunk. You can not have the 
trunk without the roots. Order and connec- 
tion, like this, we find in all that God does. 

Something of this same kind we see in the 
commandments. There is a beautiful order in 
them. You know we have had two command- 
ments already. And if you examine them, 
you will find that these two commandments 
begin with teaching us how we ought to feel 
towards God. Then this third commandment 
teaches us how we ought to speak about God ; 
then the others are occupied in showing us 



104 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



how we ought to act towards Him, and towards 
our fellow-creatures. 

What are the words of the third command- 
ment ? " Thou shalt not take the name of 
the Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord will 
not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in 
vain." 

Now, there are three questions to be answered 
in considering this commandment. The first 
question is — What is meant by God's name ? 
The second question is — How is this name taken 
in vain ? The third question is — Why should 
we not do this ? 

Our first question is — What is meant by the 
name of God ? 

If I were speaking to a congregation of 
grown persons, I should say that God's name 
means His titles, and attributes. I will say the 
same to you j and I think you can understand 
what I mean by His titles and attributes. 

But what is a title or name ? It is the 
word by which a thing is known. For in- 
stance, here is this church in which we are 
now assembled. What is it called ? St. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 105 



Paul's church. That is the title or name of 
it. That is the word by which it is known. 
You distinguish it from all other churches by 
that word. 

Suppose you had never seen a flower. I 
bring a large, beautiful one to show you. It 
has a multitude of leaves all growing closely 
together. Its fragrance is delightful — you 
seem as if you would never be tired of smell- 
ing it. Its color is a deep red, or crimson. I 
write the title of the flower under it — r-o-s-e. 
The flower is a rose. That is its name. When- 
ever you see that word you will know that it 
stands for that beautiful, fine-colored, fragrant 
flower. 

And so every word used in the Bible to 
stand for God, is meant by His name. We 
find a great many words of this kind. Among 
them are these — Lord — God — Almighty — 
Creator — Maker — Jehovah — Jesus — Preserv- 
er — Redeemer — King of kings, and so forth. 
The commandment means any, or all, of these 
when it speaks of the name of God. These 
are His names or titles. 



106 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



But there was another word that I said was 
meant by the name. of God, besides the word 
titles. What is that ? His attributes. 

An attribute is something that belongs to a 
person or thing, and forms a part of his charac- 
ter or nature. For instance, did you ever taste 
the water from the sea ? Hoiv does it taste ? 
Salt ? Yes. Hence, it is always called salt- 
water. It belongs to sea-water to be salt. 
That is a part of its nature. Saltness is an 
attribute or quality of sea-water. I am sure 
I need not ask you if you ever tasted sugar ? 
Everybody has. And Jwiv does it taste ? 
Sweet ? Yes. It belongs to sugar to be sweet. 
It is a part of its nature. Sweetness is an 
attribute or quality of sugar. And so the 
attributes of God are the things that belong 
to Him, and form part of His nature. Thus — 
wisdom belongs to God. That is one of His 
attributes. Poiver belongs to God. That 
is another of His attributes. And so good- 
ness — mercy — love — and the like, are all attri- 
butes of God. They belong to His nature. 

We read in the Bible that once, when Moses 



THE THIED COMMANDMENT. 107 

was on earth, he wanted to see God. God 
told him that he could not see His face, because 
it would kill him to do that. But God said 
He would teach Moses His name, and show 
him a little of His glory ; about as much as 
he could bear, without hurting him. So He 
put Moses in a cleft, or hollow place of a 
rock, on the side of a mountain, and covered 
Him with His hand so that he could just get a 
peep, or glimpse of His glory as He passed by. 
And while He was going by, this was the way 
in which God spelled out, or spoke His own 
name ; — " I am the Lord God, merciful and 
gracious, forgiving iniquity and transgression 
and sin." This is God's name. It is made 
up, you see, of titles and attributes. The titles 
are Lord and God. The attributes are mercy, 
grace, forgiveness. God's name means His 
titles and His attributes. What does it mean ? 
His titles and attributes. This is the first 
question we were to consider. 

And now lue come to our second question — 
How is God's name taken in vain ? This may 
be done in three ways. 



108 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



a. We take God's name in vain when we use 
it lightly, or without thinking. 

When we do any thing to the name of a 
person, it is just the same as doing it to the 
person himself. A great many years ago, 
when James the First was king of England, 
some wicked people formed a plot or conspir- 
acy to destroy the king and queen, the royal 
family, and members of parliament, all at once. 
They intended to do it in this way ; they hired 
the cellar under the parliament house. Then 
they put a great number of barrels of gun- 
powder in the cellar. These were all covered 
over with fire-wood, so as not to be discovered. 
Then they hired a miserable fellow, whose 
name was G-uy Fawkes, to fix a train to the 
powder, and, at a time appointed, to go into 
the cellar with a dark lantern and matches, 
and blow up the whole House of .Parliament 
with all who were in it together. Every thing 
was ready for the execution of this horrible 
plot. The 5th of November was the day fixed 
upon for the dreadful deed. But in the good 
providence of God it was discovered in time 
to prevent it. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 109 

The very night before the explosion was 
to take place, Guy Fawkes was found in 
the cellar, ready to set fire to the powder 
the next day. He was taken prisoner, and 
executed. Ever since that time the boys in 
England keep the 5th of November as a 
sort of holiday. I remember, when a boy 
there, having fine fun on those days. We used 
to make what is called an effigy, or stuffed 
figure of a man, and call it Guy Fawkes. 
Then, in the evening, we would have a proces- 
sion, and march round with old Guy at the 
head of it, hanging from a pole. When we 
got through marching, we used to make a great 
bonfire, and pitch Guy into it ; and while he 
was burning up, we stood round the fire and 
sung these words : — 

" Kemember, remember, the fifth, of November ; 
The gunpowder plot shall never be forgot, 
As long as Old England stands on this spot." 

In treating the name and figure of Guy Fawkes 
in this way, the boys in England show how 
they feel towards his person, or character. 
10 



110 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



And so, God regards our treatment of His 
name as if it were our treatment of His per- 
son. 

Suppose that Jesus should come, personally 
into the midst of us, in all the glory of His 
heavenly state, or just as the disciples saw 
Him on the Mount of Transfiguration ; should 
we venture to speak to Him, in the same fa- 
miliar way in which we speak to our intimate 
companions ? Certainly not. We could not 
dare to do it. The majesty of His appearance 
would overpower us with awe and reverence. 
If we did any thing at all, it would be to fall 
down before Him, and say, each one for him- 
self, with the apostle Thomas, ' £ My Lord, and 
my God !" 

Well, we should treat His name as we would 
treat His person. When we read His name, 
in the Bible or elsewhere, or when we use it 
in singing or prayer, we should think how 
great, and glorious He is, and use it with rev- 
erence. 

I remember reading about a good man once, 
who made it a rule always to pause and look 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. Ill 

up, before he spoke the name of— God. But 
we often hear children, and men and women, 
too, speak of God's holy name as lightly as 
they would speak of their own name, or the 
name of a fellow-creature. This is very wrong. 
It is taking God's name in vain, to use it lightly 
and without thinking. 

b. It is taking this name in vain when we use 
it falsely, or speak what is not true, in connec- 
tion with it. 

Suppose we are attending a trial, in one of 
our courts of justice. A person is called up 
as a witness ; that is, he is required to tell 
what he knows about the case on trial. Of 
course it is very important that he should 
speak the truth. In order to make him more 
careful about what he says, he is put on his 
oath. I mean by this, the person is required 
to stand up. Then he lifts his hand towards 
heaven, and says something like this ; — " I do 
solemnly swear, or affirm, that in what I am 
going to say, I will speak the truth, the whole 
truth, and nothing but the truth ; so help me 
God." These are very solemn words, for one 



112 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



to use who knows that G-od will bring him 
into judgment, for every idle or false word 
spoken. The person who takes this oath, 
really prays for God to punish him, if he do 
not tell the truth. To say what is not true, 
after taking this oath, is to break this com- 
mandment. It is taking God's name in vain 
to use it falsely, or to say what is not true in 
connection with it. 

c. But we break this commandment also when 
we use God's name profanely. 

This refers to cursing and swearing by this 
name. You all know what this means. You 
hear this done continually in the streets. 

Wicked men, and boys, swear awfully by the 
name of the Great and Holy God, who made 
them, and who preserves them continually. 
How dreadful this is ! It is enough to make 
the flesh creep upon one's bones, and the blood 
run cold in one's veins, to hear the shocking 
way in which sinful men will use the name of 
that Great Being, before whom we are told 
that the angels veil their faces, and in whose 
presence they bow down in solemn reverence. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 113 



This is the chief thing to which the command- 
ment refers. To speak lightly or falsely of 
God's name, is to break this commandment ; 
but it is especially so to speak profanely of it. 

Thus we have considered the first two ques- 
tions that were asked. We have seen what 
the name of God means. It means His titles 
or attributes. We have seen, also, when this 
name is taken in vain. It is so taken when we 
speak lightly of it ; when we speak falsely of 
it ; and when we speak profanely of it. 

We have now to consider our third question ; — 
Why should we not take this name in vain ? 

To break this commandment is a great sin. 
Yet it is a very common sin. What a multi- 
tude of swearers there are ! The Bible tells 
us that, " because of swearing the land mourn- 
eth." Jer. xxiii. 10. If we love our country, 
and want to see it prosper, we must be con- 
vinced of the great evil of this habit of swear- 
ing, and not only keep free from it ourselves; 
but also try all we can to keep others from it. 
For this cause, I will dwell longer on this last 
question, than on either of the others. I wish 
10* 



114 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



to mention five reasons, why we should not be 
guilty of taking God's name in vain. Try 
and remember them. 

a. We should not do it because it is useless. 

There are some sins which people commit 
because they find some use in it. If a poor 
fellow is hungry, and almost starving, and he 
steals a loaf of bread to satisfy his hunger, 
and keep him from starving, you can hardly 
blame him. At any rate, you feel disposed to 
excuse him. His hunger is some apology. 
He did wrong to steal ; yet there was some 
apology for him. He had an object to gain. 
There was use in what he did. 

Or. suppose a man is selling a lot of goods. If 
he tell the truth about them, he will only get fifty 
dollars for them ; but if he tell a lie, and stick 
to it, he may perhaps get a hundred dollars for 
them. That would be a great temptation with 
many people, to tell the lie. But it would not 
make it right. Nothing can make it right to tell 
a lie. And if a man should make five hundred 
dollars by a single lie, he would gain more, in 
the long run, by telling the truth. No lie 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



115 



prospers. " Honesty is the best policy.' 7 But 
if a man found he could make fifty or a hun- 
dred dollars by telling a lie, he might say 
there was some use in it. But what use is 
there in swearing ? Who ever made any thing 
by it ? Who ever thinks any better of a man 
for hearing him swear ? None can think bet- 
ter, but a great many will think worse, of him 
who allows himself to swear. 

Good old Bishop G-riswold used to say, that 
when men go a fishing, they always put some 
bait on their hooks. But when Satan tempts 
men to swear, he throws out a hook without 
any bait on it, and swearers are foolish enough 
to be caught by it. 

The good John Howard was once going 
out into the street. As he reached the door 
he heard some dreadful oaths, from several 
men coming down the street. He immediately 
buttoned up his pocket, and said to those who 
stood near him, " I always do this, whenever 
I hear men swear ; for I think that any one 
who can take God's name in vain, can steal, 
or do any thing else that is bad." 



116 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



It used to be thought that swearing, if use- 
ful nowhere else, was so, at least, on board 
ship. Captains and officers used to think that 
it was impossible to keep men in order, on 
board of a ship, without swearing at them. 
But this was a great mistake. 

A pious captain was once appointed to the 
command of a British ship of war. When he 
went on board, before the ship sailed, he called 
all the crew to him on deck, and said to them ; 
— " My lads, there is one law I wish to make, 
and which I am very anxious to have kept. 
It is a favor which I will ask of you, and 
which, as a British officer, I expect will be 
granted, by a crew of British sailors. What 
do you say, my lads ? are you willing to grant 
your new captain one favor ?" " Ay, ay, sir," 
cried all hands ; " let's know what it is." 

" Well, my lads, it's this : you must allow 
me to swear the first oath in this ship. No 
one on board must swear an oath before I do ; 
I am determined to swear the first oath on 
board. What say you, my lads ; will you 
grant me this favor ?" The sailors stood, and 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 117 



stared at one another for a moment, quite at a 
loss what to say. As one of them afterwards 
said ; — " They were taken all aback or, as 
another expressed it ; — " They were brought up 
all standing." But the request was so reason- 
able, and the captain's manner so kind and 
pleasant, that they couldn't think of refusing. 
Directly, with a general burst, the crew ex- 
claimed ; — " Ay, ay, sir." Then some one pro- 
posed, " Three cheers for the captain." In a 
minute, off went the tarpaulins, and " Hurrah ! 
hurrah ! hurrah I" went sounding out, right 
merrily, from the decks of that man-of-war. 
Swearing was abolished on board that ship. 
They found it was of no use. And if it is not 
necessary on shipboard, it is not necessary 
anywhere. We ought not to take God's name 
in vain, because it is useless. 

We ought not to do it, again, because it is 

COWARDLY. 

It is a mean thing to do and say, behind 
a person's back, what you would be afraid 
to do, or say, before his face. Everybody 
admits this. But you may ask, What has this 



118 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



to do with swearing ? Can any one swear 
behind God's back? or where He will not 
hear it ? Of course not. God is in every 
place, seeing and hearing all that is done or 
said. But swearers don't think of this. They 
don't believe it. They feel as if they were 
out of sight and hearing of God ; as if they 
were behind His back ; or else they would be 
afraid to swear. This shows that it is cow- 
ardly in them. I know that men and boys 
sometimes feel as if it were a brave thing to 
swear. Bat it is not. It is a mean, cowardly 
thing. 

You remember what took place when God 
came down on the top of Mount Sinai, and 
gave these commandments to Moses. Dark 
clouds covered all the top of the mountain. 
Aji angel's trumpet was heard in the midst of 
the clouds. It sounded long and loud. The 
mountain shook, and trembled, as if it was 
afraid. Lightnings flashed, and thunders rolled 
out from those clouds. How awful it must 
have been! Now, do you suppose that the 
vilest swearer in the land would have been 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



119 



willing to go and stand at the foot of that 
mountain, and, while it was trembling under 
his feet, with the lightnings flashing, and the 
thunders rolling around him, there deliber- 
ately curse and swear by the name of God? 
No. He would have been afraid. Why ? Be- 
cause he would have felt himself to be in the 
presence of God. Then, why is not such a 
man afraid to swear at other times ? Because 
he does not feel that he is in the presence of 
God. He feels as if God were absent, and he 
is willing to do behind His back, as it were, 
what he would be afraid to do before His face. 
But this is cowardly. 

A gentleman once heard a laboring man 
swearing dreadfully, in the presence of a num- 
ber of his companions. He told him it was a 
cowardly thing to swear so, in company with 
others, when he dared not do it by himself. 
The man said he wasn't afraid to swear, at any 
time, or in any place. " 111 give you ten dol- 
lars," said the gentleman, " if you will go into 
the village graveyard, at twelve o'clock, to- 
night, and swear the same oaths you have 



120 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



just uttered here, when you are alone with 

God:' 

" Agreed," said the man. " It's an easy way 
of earning ten dollars." 

" Well, you come to me to-morrow, and say 
you have done it, and the money is yours." 

The time passed on. The hour of midnight 
came. The man went to the graveyard. It 
was a night of pitchy darkness. As he entered 
the graveyard, not a sound was heard. All 
was as still as death. Then the gentleman's 
words — " alone with God" — came over him with 
wonderful power. The thought of the wicked- 
ness of what he had been doing, and what he 
had come there to do, darted across his mind 
like the lightning's flash. He trembled at his 
folly. Afraid to take another step, he fell 
upon his knees, and, instead of the dreadful 
oaths he came to utter, the earnest cry went up ; 
— " God be merciful to me a sinner." The next 
day he went to the gentleman, and thanked him 
for what he had done ; and said he had resolved 
never to swear another oath as long as he 
lived. 




KLig'g Highway. 



p. 120. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



121 



We ought not to take God's name in vain, 
because it is coivardly. 

We ought not to do it, again, because it is 

VULGAE. 

It is contrary to good manners. Really 
polite people will not do it. The poet Cow- 
per once wrote these lines about swearing. 
It would be worth while for every boy in our 
land to commit them to memory ; — 

" It chills my blood to hear the blest Supreme 
Lightly appealed to on each trifling theme ; 
Maintain your rank ; vulgarity despise ; 
To swear is neither brave, polite, nor wise." 

True politeness will always lead us to avoid 
doing any thing that will hurt the feelings of 
others. If you are invited out to tea, and, 
while sitting at the table, the person who invited 
you, or any one else of the company, should 
speak unkindly and disrespectfully of your 
father, or mother, you would feel that it was 
very impolite. But Jesus is the best friend 
His people have. He is dearer to them than 
father, or mother, husband, or wife. It is, there- 
11 



122 the king's highway. 



fore, impolite in the highest degree, for any 
one to speak lightly, or disrespectfully of Him, 
in the presence of those who love Him. 

A Southern planter had a favorite negro 
servant, who was ordered to stand opposite to 
him, and wait at table. His master was a 
profane person, and often took the name of 
God in vain. Whenever he did so the negro 
made a low and solemn bow. On being asked 
why he did this, he replied, that he never heard 
that great name mentioned, but it filled his 
soul with awe and reverence. His master was 
a gentleman. And though he did not fear 
God, yet, out of politeness, he gave up swear- 
ing, because he was not willing to hurt the 
feelings of his servant. 

A merchant and ship-owner, of New York, 
was standing, at the entrance of his store, 
conversing with a gentleman on business. A 
pious sailor, belonging to one of his vessels, 
came to the store to enter it ; but observing 
that the door was occupied, modestly stepped 
aside, not willing to interrupt the conversation. 
While waiting there, he heard the name of 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



123 



Jesus profanely used, and, on turning to look, 
he observed that it was his employer who was 
speaking. Instantly changing his position, 
and standing in front of the gentlemen, with 
his head uncovered, and his hat under his 
arm, he addressed the merchant in this lan- 
guage ;— 

" Sir, will you excuse me if I speak a word 
to you ?" The gentleman, recognizing him as 
one of the crew of his vessel, recently arrived, 
and supposing he might have something to say 
about the business of the ship, told him to 
speak on. 

" You won't be offended, then, sir, with a 
poor ignorant sailor, if he tells you his feel- 
ings ?" said he. 

" Certainly not," replied the merchant. 
" Well, then, sir." said the honest-hearted 
sailor, with much feeling, " will you be so kind 
as not to take the name of my blessed Jesus in 
vain ? He is a good Saviour ? He took my 
feet out of ' the horrible pit and miry clay, 
and established my goings.' Oh, sir ! don't, 
if you please, take the name of my Jesus in 



124 the king's highway. 

vain ! He never did any one any harm, but is 

always doing good." 

This was said, with so much earnestness and 
feeling, that the gentleman was quite touched. 
His eyes filled with tears, and he said 

" My good fellow, God helping me, I will 
never again take the name of your Saviour in 
vain." 

" Thank you, sir," said the honest tar ; and, 
putting on his hat, he went away to his work. 

We ought not to take God's name in vain, 
"because it is vulgar. 

Again, we ought not to do it because it is 

WICKED. 

To do this is to break one of God's com- 
mandments. Many a person allows himself 
to get into the habit of swearing, who would 
be frightened at the thought of robbery or 
murder. And yet, robbery and murder are 
only sins against our fellow-creatures ; but 
swearing is a sin directly against God. The 
wickedness of any act depends, a good deal, 
on the character of the person against whom 
it is committed. But think how great, how 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 125 



glorious God is ! All the kings on the earth, 
and ten thousand times more, are as nothing 
compared to Him. Oh ! how great the wicked- 
ness, how awful the sin of taking His holy 
name in vain ! Surely, if people only thought 
a moment about this, they would never do it. 

A clergyman, and his friend, once went to 
attend a religious convention in a certain city. 
During their stay there, they stopped at the 
house of a physician. He was a very intelli- 
gent, gentlemanly man, but very much in the 
habit of profane swearing. The clergyman 
was told of the doctor's bad habit, before he 
went there, and had made up his mind to say 
something to him about it, when he heard him 
make use of an oath. To his surprise and 
gratification, however, the doctor never swore 
once, all the time they were there. On the 
evening before they went away, the clergyman 
said ; — 

" Doctor, we are going to leave you to- 
morrow ; we can not go away without thank- 
ing you, most heartily, for all your kindness ; 
and yet, allow me to say, there is one thing, 
11* 



126 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



my dear sir, in which we have been disap- 
pointed." 

" Disappointed ?" said the doctor. 

" Yes, sir, bnt most agreeably." 

" How so, sir?" 

" We were told, my dear sir, that you were 
very unguarded in your speech, and that we 
should often hear profane language from you. 
But, during our whole stay, we have not heard 
a single profane word used • and we are agree- 
ably disappointed to find that you have been 
misrepresented." 

" No, sir," replied the doctor, " I have not 
been misrepresented. I am sorry to say that 
I have fallen into the bad habit of using pro- 
fane language ; but } sir, how could I be so im- 
polite as to swear before religious people, and 
one of them a clergyman ?" 

The eyes of the minister filled with tears, 
while he earnestly grasped the doctor's hand, 
and exclaimed ; — 

" My dear sir, you surprise me. Can it be 
that an intelligent man, like you, will pay 
more regard to a fellow-creature, a worm of 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 127 

the dust, like yourself, than to the Great Crea- 
tor, the Lord of heaven and earth ?" 

" Gentlemen/ 7 said the doctor, " I never be- 
fore saw the folly and wickedness of profane 
swearing, as I see it now. I will never swear 
again." 

We ought not to take God's name in vain, 
because it is wicked. 

There is only one other reason, I ivill speak 
of, why we ought not to do this, and that is, he- 
cause it is DANGEROUS. 

The commandment says, " God will not hold 
those guiltless" who do it. This means that 
God will certainly punish them for it. The 
Bible tells us that God " will bring every work 
into judgment, whether it be good, or whether 
it be evil." It tells us, again, that " for every 
idle word that men speak, they must give ac- 
count at the last clay." And if for every " idle 
word," much more for every profane word. 

But God does not always wait till the day 
of judgment, before He punishes men for tak- 
ing His name in vain. He often punishes 
them for it now, in this life. 



128 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



A few years ago, two soldiers laid a wager 
to see who could swear the most oaths. After 
one of them had uttered many shocking ones, 
he paused a moment, and said he could think 
of but one more, which should be his last. 
But before he had time to speak it, he was 
struck speechless, and remained so for three 
hours, when he died. His body, by order of 
the officers, was made a public spectacle to the 
other soldiers, and the people in the neighbor- 
hood, as a warning against swearing. 

Some years ago, a lady and gentleman set 
off, upon ponies, to make an excursion, from 
Margate to Ramsgate, in England. They were 
accompanied by two boys, who belonged to 
the place, and whose employment was to at- 
tend on persons making excursions, and drive 
the ponies. One boy, named John, was about 
seventeen years old ; the other, named George, 
was about thirteen. John was a very wicked, 
profane boy. When they were about a mile 
on their way, a violent storm overtook them, 
accompanied with tremendous peals of thunder, 
and awful flashes of lightning. This obliged 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



129 



the lady and gentleman to stop, and seek shel- 
ter, in a neighboring cottage. The boys, with 
their ponies, went under a shed. John was 
very angry on account of the delay. He 
cursed the lightning, and the thunder, and the 
rain, and the God who sent them. George was 
frightened, and begged him to stop. Then John 
called him a coward and a fool ; and, with a 
dreadful oath, he swore that he would go on, in 
spite of the storm. But, just as he was start- 
ing, a terrible flash of lightning came. It 
burnt his clothes, and struck him dead upon 
the spot. This produced a great excitement 
in the neighborhood. Thousands of people 
came to look at the spot. A sign was set up 
at the place, as a warning to all who went by. 
These were the words upon it ; — " Reader, pre- 
pare for eternity. A boy was struck dead 
here, while in the act of swearing." 

I remember, some time since, hearing of a 
rich man, who had a large plantation. He 
was the most terribly profane man that had 
ever been known in the neighborhood. He 
could hardly speak a word, on any subject, 



130 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



without mingling it with oaths. It was per- 
fectly shocking to hear him speak. At length 
he was seized with a stroke of something like 
paralysis. This left him in good health, only 
he had lost the use of his limbs. And the re- 
markable thing about it was, that the power 
of speech was taken away from him, except 
that he could still sivear. Profane words were 
all that he could utter. He used to be carried 
about his plantation by his servants, in a sort 
of hand-carriage, and the only words that ever 
fell from his lips, were dreadful oaths and 
curses. How awful this must have been ! 
What a terrible illustration it affords of that 
passage of scripture — Psalm cix. 17-19 — in 
which God says, that because the wicked " love 
cursing, it shall come into their bones like oil, 
and they shall clothe themselves with cursing like 
a garment." Surely this man was so clothed. 
A dreadful garment it must have been to wear ! 

I might go on, for a great while, giving you 
examples of the danger of swearing, but I 
will only mention one more. 

There was a man employed by a farmer, in 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 131 

the neighborhood of a country town, to work 

on his farm. His name was James B . 

On account of his singular profaneness, he 
was known through all the neighborhood, as 
" wicked Jim." One evening he was playing 
cards, with his companions, and frequently 
lost the game. At last, he threw down the 
cards, in great anger, and swore dreadfully at 
his own eyes, cursing them as being of no use 
to him. Shortly after, he was seen to rub his 
eyes, as though they were painful. Then he 
went to wash them, at the pump. The next 
morning he was stone blind. He has never 
seen a ray of light since. 

These cases show us what the commandment 
means when it says, " G-od will not hold them 
guiltless, that take His name in vain." We see 
from them that we ought not to break this 
commandment, because it is dangerous. 

Thus we have had five reasons why we 
should not take God's name in vain. It is 
useless to do so ; it is coivardly. vulgar, wicked, 
and dangerous. 

I have tried to answer the three questions 



132 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



proposed, and to show you, first, what is meant 
by the name of God ? It means His titles and 
attributes. Secondly, hoio this name is taken in 
vain ? By using it lightly, falsely, profanely. 
Thirdly, Why we should not do this ? It is 
useless, coivardly, vulgar, wicked, and danger- 
ous. 

My dear children, I spoke, at the beginning 
of this sermon, about oaks growing out of 
acorns. Now, if we wanted to prevent any 
oak trees from growing, the best plan would 
be not to put any acorns in the ground, would 
it not ? . And so, if you want never to swear 
big oaths, the best plan is not to make use 
of little ones. There are a great many little 
oaths that people use without thinking. But 
these Only prepare the way for using other 
oaths. 

There are many persons who are unwilling 
to swear by the name of God, but who think 
nothing of swearing " by George" or " by jin- 
go" or by something else. Others are ever 
ready to exclaim " " good gracious," or " mercy 
on us" and the like. These are the beginnings 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 133 

of swearing. They are to profane swearing 
what acorns are to the oak. When yon hear 
persons using these expressions, yon may say 
to yourself ; — " There, the acorn has sprouted. 
By and by it will come to an oak." 

Our Saviour said, when on earth, " Let your 
yea, be yea, and your nay, nay ; for whatso- 
ever is more than this cometh of evil." This 
means that we should use plain language, with- 
out swearing of any kind. And this is what 
the third commandment requires of us. 

Then let us all pray with David — Psalm cxli. 
3 — " Set a watch, Lord, before my mouth : and 
keep the door of my lips :" or, in the language 
of our ante-communion service, let us pray — 
" Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our 
hearts to keep this law." May God give us 
all grace to do so for Jesus' sake ! Amen. 

12 



134 the king's highway. 



HYMN ON THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 

Almighty God, while we 

Our youthful voices raise, 
And offer up to Thee 

The tribute of our praise, 
Oh ! may Thy love our hearts inflame, 
And teach us to adore Thy Name. 

Thy Name, in beauteous hues 

Of light, of life, and love, 
Throughout creation shines, 

Around, beneath, above — 
And all on earth, in air, and sea, 
Pour forth a song of praise to Thee ! 

But in the Saviour's face 

We read its fairest lines. 
Oh ! with what wondrous grace, 

The Name of Jesus shines ; 
As children in His arms He pressed, 
And with His choicest blessing, blessed 

Oh ! may we never dare 

To act that wicked part ; 
Nor offer up a prayer 

That comes not from the heart : 
Or speak that Name, in careless phrase, 
That heaven adores and earth obeys. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



Dear Saviour, to our hearts, 

Thy Name in mercy show, 
The blessings it can give, 

Oh ! may we early know. 
Thus shall we yield it honor due, 
And others win to love it, too. 

And when, before Thy Throne, 

"We all at last appear ; 
Thy Name of Love, alone, 

Shall be our safety there. 
In it we'll stand before Thy Face, 
Perfect, through Thy abounding grace 1 



" Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Sis days shalt thou 
labor, and do all thy work ; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the 
Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor 
thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, 
nor thy stranger that is within thy gates : for in six days the Lord 
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the 
seventh day : wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hal- 
lowed it." — Exodus xx.8-12. 



What is the difference between a bird, and a 
fish ? One lives in the air, and the other lives 
in the water. What is the difference between 
a rose, and a lily ? One is red, and the other 
is white. What is the difference between 
sugar, and vinegar ? One is sweet, and the 




HAT is the difference between day, 
and night ? One is light, and the 
other is dark. What is the differ- 
ence between summer, and winter ? 
One is warm, and the other is cold. 



(136) 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 137 



other is sour. Very well. 'Now, what is the 
difference between the fourth conimandnient, 
and any of the rest ? 

There is one word in this commandment, 
which we do not find in any of the others. It 
is the first word that occurs in it. What is 
it ? The word — " Remember" If you turn 
to the first commandment, does it begin — 
" Remember that thou have no other gods 
before me?" No. There is no " remember 77 
about it. Does the fifth begin — " Remember 
that thou dost honor thy father and thy moth- 
er ?" Not at all. We do not find this 
word in any of the others. This is singular. 
It means something. It shows us that there 
was one thing in which this commandment 
differed from all the rest ; it was this ; — the 
fourth commandment was an old command- 
ment : the rest were all new ones. 

I do not mean to say that the people did not 
know that it was wrong to steal, and to kill, 
and to commit such like sins ; but I mean to 
say, that God had not before given the people 
laws on these subjects, as He did at Mount 
12* 



138 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Sinai. But He had given them the law about 
the Sabbath ; and this is the reason why, when 
we come to this law, we find it beginning — 
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it 
holy." 

We must know a thing before we can re- 
member it. If you go to a new school, the 
teacher first tells you what the rules of the 
school are, and then expects you to remember 
them. He would be a very unreasonable teach- 
er, if he expected you to remember them before 
you knew them. You can't keep a thing in 
your hand till you get it there. And it is just 
so with the mind. To know a thing is to get 
it in the mind. To remember it, is to keep it 
there, after you have got it. Now, this law, or 
commandment about the Sabbath, was given to 
Adam and Eve in Paradise. It had always 
been known after that. It is the oldest law 
in the world. It was the first law God ever 
made for people, in this world, to mind. And 
this is the reason why the commandment begins 
with the word — " Remember." 

Now, let us look at this fourth command- 



THE FOUETH COMMANDMENT. 139 

inent. In order to understand it, there are 
three questions for us to ask and answer. 

The first question is ; What is meant by 
the Sabbath day ? The second question is ; 
How must we keep it holy ? and the third 
question is ; Why should we do this ? 

Now, for the first question ; What is meant 
by the Sabbath day ? 

The word Sabbath means rest. The Sabbath 
day means the day of rest. The Bible tells us 
that God was occupied, for six days, in making 
the world. By the close of the sixth day He 
had finished all that He wanted to make. The 
sun, and the moon, and the stars, and this 
world, and every thing in it, was completed. 
" And God looked on all that He had made, 
and behold, it was very good." Then, on the 
seventh day, He rested. This doesn't mean 
that God was tired, as you, or I, should be, if 
we had been working hard all the week. God 
never can be tired. If He had gone on mak- 
ing worlds, without stopping a moment, for 
six years instead of six days, or for six hun- 
dred, or six thousand years, He would not 



140 



THE KINGS HIGHWAY. 



have felt in the least tired. When it says 
that " God rested/' it only means that He 
stopped, or ceased from the work of creating, 
or making, worlds. He had made as many as 
He wanted, and then He stopped. In this 
way " He rested on the seventh day, and hal- 
lowed it," or made it holy. He did this in 
order to teach Adam, and Eve, and all their 
children, that He wanted them always to stop 
their work on this day, and keep it holy in 
the same way. 

The Sabbath day was first kept in Paradise. 
What a nice time Adam and Eve must have 
had, when the Sabbath day came in that beau- 
tiful garden ! They had no church, like this, 
to go to. But every grove, the shade of every 
tree, was a church. The whole garden was 
one great church. The congregation was small 
— it was made up of just two people — but it 
was a very attentive one. They had no printed 
Bible, like ours, and no ordained minister to 
preach them a sermon. Their Bible was all 
around them. Every blade of grass, every 
trembling leaf, every opening, fragrant, beau- 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 141 



tiful floAver, preached a sermon to them. Every 
thing they saw seemed to have a tongue with 
which to speak to them of the power, and good- 
ness, the wisdom, and the love of God. They 
had no organ, and no choir, to help them, 
when they wanted to sing the praises of God. 
But the gentle wind, that made sweet music 
as it swept through the trees of the garden, 
was their organ ; the warbling birds, as they 
sang among the branches ; the rippling brooks, 
as they murmured softly through the groves ; 
— these were their choir to hymn " their Great 
Creator's praise." 

Thus the Sabbath day was kept, in Para- 
dise. How pleasant it must have been, to 
spend a Sabbath there ! 

And the Sabbath day was kept after Adam 
and Eve were driven out of Paradise. Enoch 
kept it, when he " walked with God," upon 
the earth. Noah kept it, in the ark. Abra- 
ham and Jacob kept it. The Israelites kept 
it, in the wilderness, before they came to Mount 
Sinai. And it was remembered and kept by 
those who loved God, in after ages. 



142 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



The seventh day was kept as the Sabbath 
till after our Saviour rose from the dead. 
Then His apostles and followers were directed 
to keep the first day of the week, instead of 
the seventh. And this has been observed ever 
since. This is the day we keep. The first 
day of the week is our Sabbath. This has 
been kept for nearly two thousand years. We 
keep this day in memory of the resurrection of 
Jesus. The seventh day used to be observed 
in memory of the work of creation, which 
was then finished ; but the first day is kept 
now in memory of the work of redemption, 
which was finished when J esus rose from the 
dead. By the Sabbath day is meant a day of 
rest. This is the answer to our first question. 

The second question is ; How must we keep 

THIS DAY HOLY ? 

Two things are necessary if we would keep 
the Sabbath properly ; — -one is, To stop tvork- 
ing ; — the other is, To spend it in worshipping 
God, and thinking and learning about Him. 

It is necessary to stop working, if we would 
keep the Sabbath. G-od's command is very 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 143 

positive about this. It says — " Six days shalt 
thou labor and do all that thou hast to do : 
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord 
thy G-od : in it thou shalt do no manner of 
work" This is very strong language. And 
it is very plain, too ; nobody can mistake it. 
But suppose a man stops working himself, is it 
any harm to let his servants, or his children 
work ? Of course it is. Just as much as 
though he did the work himself. The com- 
mandment says — " Thou, nor thy son, nor thy 
daughter, nor thy man servant, nor thy maid 
servant, nor thy cattle." And God told the 
Jews in another place, that he spoke these 
words on purpose that their servants and their 
cattle should rest, as well as themselves. This 
shows us how good, and kind, and tender God 
is, that He thinks about, and takes care even 
of the very cattle. The Bible tells us that 
God is " good unto all, and His tender mercies 
are over all His works." The fourth com- 
mandment shows us how true this is. 

If this commandment were properly obeyed, 
what a quiet time there would be all over the 



144 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



world, one day in seven ! All stores would be 
closed. All factories would be stopped. All 
labor would cease. There would be no cars 
running, no engines puffing, no sound of saw 
or hammer heard ; but every person and thing 
would be at rest. How calm and peaceful 
every thing would be ! 

But is it not lawful to do some particular kinds 
of work on Sunday ? Certainly. Our Saviour 
said it was lawful for a man to loose his horse 
from the stable and lead him away to the pump, 
or the creek, to get a drink of water, on the 
Sabbath. He said it was lawful for a man, if 
lie had an ox, or an ass, that had fallen into a 
pit, to pull it out on the Sabbath. 

Suppose a vessel is wrecked on the coast, 
and the passengers, if not relieved, must soon 
perish ; would it not be right for any, who 
could do so, to go and help them ? Of course. 
Suppose a building takes fire ; is it not lawful 
to try to put it out ? Surely it is. And so it is 
right for the dairy-maid to milk her cows, and 
for the physician to visit his patients, and for 
those who are nursing the sick to do and get 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 145 

all that is necessary for their comfort. It is 
right to do good, on the Sabbath day. Works 
of mercy, and works of necessity, may be done, 
without breaking this commandment. But all 
other works must be stopped. 

Is it enough, however, merely to stop work- 
ing ? Suppose a man stops working, and then 
lies in bed all day ; is that keeping the Sab- 
bath holy ? No ; surely not. Suppose he 
stops working, but spends the day in visiting 
among his friends ; is that keeping the Sab- 
bath holy ? No. Suppose he stays at home, 
and reads newspapers ; is that keeping the 
Sabbath? No. If a company of boys go out 
and romp in the woods, or fly their kites, or 
play marbles ; or if a company of girls get 
their dolls out, and dress, and undress them, 
they are not working ; but are they keeping 
the Sabbath ? Not at all. 

It is not enough to stop working ; we must 
spend the day in worshipping God, and learn- 
ing and thinking about Him. Whatever else 
we do is breaking the Sabbath. When God 
tells His people, by the prophet Isaiah, how 
13 



146 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



they ought to keep the Sabbath, He says they 
should " call it a delight, the holy of the Lord, 
honorable and they should " not do their 
own ways, nor find their own pleasure, nor 
speak their own words." Isaiah lviii. 13. Here 
we see how G-od would have us keep the Sab- 
bath. It is His day. It is set apart for Him. 
He intends that we should employ the day — 
not a part of it, but the whole of it — in wor- 
shipping Him, in reading, and talking, in think- 
ing, and learning about Him. It is God's day, 
and should be employed in things that have 
reference to Him. This is the way in which 
we should keep the Sabbath holy ; — by stop- 
ping work ; and by ivorshipping God, and learn- 
ing and thinking about Him. 

And now we come to the third question : 
Why should we do this ? I will mention three 
reasons. One of these refers to God; one refers 
to ourselves ; and one refers to our country. 

Now, what is there in reference to God, 
which shows us why we ought to keep this 
commandment? There is His example and 
command. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 147 

God's example is a reason why we should 
keep the Sabbath day holy. God kept it so 
Himself. " He rested from all His work." 
He did this to set us an example. 

[* But some people think the Sabbath was 
only intended for the Jews. How can we 
show that this is not so ? Several things 
about the Sabbath show it. 

The time when it ivas first kept shoivs it. It 
was first kept in the garden of Eden. But 
were there any Jews in Paradise ? No. The 
Jews sprung from Abraham, and Abraham 
didn't live till more than 2,000 years after 
Adam was driven out of Paradise. 

Then the ivork from which God rested when 
He kept the first Sabbath shows that it was not 
intended for the Jews only. In what work had 
God been engaged for the six days before the 
first Sabbath ? Making the world. But was 
the world made for the Jews only ? No ; it 
was made for the Gentiles also ; yes, and 

* The portion, included in brackets, may be omitted 
in reading the sermon ; but it was thought too impor- 
tant a part of the argument to be left out, 



148 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



nmch more for the Gentiles than for the J ews ; 
for the Gentiles possess a hundred times more 
of the world than the Jews ever did. 

And then, the company in which God put the 
fourth commandment, shows that it was not in- 
tended for the Jeivs only. What company was 
this ? It was the company of the ten command- 
ments. He made it one of the ten. These 
were written on — what ? Tables of stone. 
If a law is written on stone, that shows it is 
intended to last. If you write any thing on 
the sand by the sea-shore, how long will it last ? 
Till the next wave rolls over it. That washes 
it clean out. If you write any thing with chalk, 
or lead pencil, it is easily rubbed out. If you 
write it with ink, in a book, it may soon be de- 
stroyed. But write it on stone, and it will last. 
God did give the Jews some laws which were 
for themselves alone. These were written with 
ink, in a book. But the fourth commandment 
was not put among these. It was intended to 
last for ever : it was meant for all the world. 
For this reason it was put in company with 
the ten commandments, and written on stone.] 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 149 



God was the first to keep the Sabbath Him- 
self. His example is a reason for keeping it. 

Then his command is another reason for 
keeping it. 

Suppose a person should go into the presence 
of the queen of England, when she was sitting 
on her throne, before all her nobles and princes, 
and, taking a book containing the laws of 
the kingdom, should deliberately throw it on 
the floor, and trample on it ; — what would be 
thought of that person ? They would consider 
that he was insulting the queen. His conduct 
would be considered outrageously wicked. 
And so it would be. He would be taken 
up, and put in prison. Unless it could be 
proved that he was crazy, he would most 
likely be hung. But this is only what every 
Sabbath-breaker does in the presence of the 
great Kings of kings. No person can break 
the Sabbath without trampling on His laws. 

One morning a gentleman was going to 
church. He was a happy, cheerful Christian, 
who had a very great respect for the Sabbath. 
He was a singular man, and would sometimes 



150 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



do and say what children are apt to call very 
u funny things." As he was going along he 
met a stranger, driving a heavily loaded wagon 
through the town. When this gentleman got 
right opposite to the wagoner, he stopped, 
turned round, and, lifting up both hands, as if 
in horror, he exclaimed, as he gazed under the 
wagon : — 

" There, there, — you are going over it ! You 
have gone right over it !" 

The driver was frightened. He drew up 
his reins in an instant ; cried — " Whoa — whoa !" 
and brought his horses to a stand. Then he 
looked down under the wheels, expecting to 
see the mangled remains of some innocent 
child, or at least some poor dog, or pig, that 
had been ground to a jelly. But he saw 
nothing. So, after gazing all about, he looked 
up to the gentleman who had so strangely 
arrested his attention, and anxiously asked ; — ■ 

" Pray, sir, what have I gone over ?" 

" Over the fourth commandment" was the 
quick reply. " ' Remember the Sabbath day, to 
keep it holy.' " 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 151 



The farmer found it hard work to start his 
wagon again, and it was very dull driving all 
the rest of that day. 

Just so every Sabbath-breaker treats God's 
commandment. God says ; — " Remember the 
Sabbath day." But oh ! how many people 
forget it ! 

A gentleman was going along a country 
road one Sunday. A person came up to him, 
and, bowing politely, said ; — 

" Sir, did you pass three men driving a flock 
of sheep along this road ?" 

" Yes, sir," replied the gentleman ; " and I 
noticed that one of them had a blue jacket on, 
and that they all had short memories." 

" Short memories !" said the stranger ; " I 
don't see how you could tell what sort of 
memories they had." 

" Certainly, I could," said the gentleman, 
" for you know God has said — ' Remember the 
Sabbath day, to keep it holy !' But those men 
had all forgotten it. They had short memories." 

Ah ! how many people there are with just 
such memories ! It is often very inconvenient 



152 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



to have a short memory, in reference to other 
things ; but in reference to God, it is very 
dangerous to have such a memory : for we 
read in the Bible these solemn words ; — " The 
wicked shall be turned into hell ; and all the 
people that— -forget — God ! " Ps. ix. 17. 

God had a right to demand all our time, if 
He had chosen ; but He claims only one day 
out of seven. How ungrateful and wicked it 
is, when people are not willing to give Him 
even that ! 

One Sunday a gentleman was going to 
church. On his way he saw a company of 
large boys, playing, on the common. He 
wanted very much to show them how wrong 
it was for them to be so doing ; but he knew 
that if he began to reprove them they wouldn't 
listen to him. So he walked leisurely up to 
them, and sat down on the grass. Presently, 
in a pleasant, familiar tone, he said ; — " Boys, 
I want to tell you a story." 

Directly they all gathered, unsuspectingly, 
around him, and he began as follows ; — 

"There was once a good man, who was 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 153 

noted for his kindness and liberality. At 
the time of which I speak, he was on a journey. 
As he was pursuing his way, along a lonely 
road, he met a man who represented himself 
as having suffered a great loss, in consequence 
of which he was in deep distress. With his 
usual kindness the good man instantly drew 
out his purse ; and after examining it, he said, 
1 1 have only seven dollars with me ; but I 
think that with one dollar I can get to the 
end of my journey, and you shall have the rest. 7 
With this he handed the man the six dollars. 
Wasn't that generous ? Wouldn't you have 
thought that the beggar must have gone off 
feeling very grateful and contented? Cer- 
tainly, we should have expected this. But he 
did no such thing. He was not a beggar at 
all, but a robber ; and seeing that the good 
man had still one dollar in his purse, he 
knocked him down with a club, and stole his 
last dollar from him." 

The boys were very indignant on hearing 
this. They all cried out against the shameful 
conduct of the robber. One of them went so 



154 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



far as to say he didn't think anybody could 
be found quite so wicked as that. 

" Now, stop/' said the gentleman ; " let me 
tell you, boys, this is just what you are doing. 
G-od has emptied, not His purse, but His 
heart, for your benefit. He has given you 
freely six days, out of the seven, for your own 
use. He has kept only one for Himself, to be 
kept holy, and spent in worshipping Him ; and 
yet you are so mean as to rob Him even of 
that!" 

The boys hung down their heads. They 
had not a word to say, but broke up their play 
and went off. 

Thus there is a reason that refers to God, 
why we should keep the Sabbath day holy. 
His example, and His command should lead us 
to do so. 

But there is also a reason that refers to our- 
selves. 

Keeping the Sabbath is necessary for our 
health and life. 

Here is my watch. Suppose I should con-" 
elude not to wind it up to-night ; what would 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 155 



happen to it ? It would- stop. It is necessary 
to wind a watch up, if you want it to keep 
going. Now, our bodies and minds are just 
like a watch. They need to be wound up con- 
tinually, or else they will stop going. These 
are wound up by resting. When we go to 
bed, and sleep, at night, we are getting wound 
up for the next day. You know how often, 
when night conies, you feel tired, heavy, and 
good for nothing. If you sit down to read a 
book, or study a lesson, you very soon fall 
asleep over it. Just like a watch that is run 
down, you are ready to stop. But after a 
good, long sleep, you wake up bright, fresh, 
strong, and ready for any thing. The reason 
is, you are wound up. But suppose you should 
resolve not to sleep any more ; what would be 
the consequence? You would go crazy, and 
die. Some watches need to be wound up every 
day, and others only once a week. When we 
buy a watch, or clock, we always ask the 
maker of it how often it is necessary to be 
wound up. And we always follow his direc- 
tions, because we know that, as he made it, he 



156 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



understands all about it. But God is the 
Maker of our bodies and souls. These are 
like a watch, or machine, that must be wound 
up regularly. The Maker knows best how 
often to wind them up. If we ask Him, He 
says ; — " Every night, and once a week besides." 
God has given us the night and the Sabbath 
to rest in, and get wound up. They are both 
necessary. We can not get on long, or well, 
without them. Some people think they know 
better than God. They try to do without 
resting on the Sabbath, but they always suffer 
from it. 

William Pitt, the great statesman of Eng- 
land, had so much business to attend to, that 
he resolved to work on Sunday as well as 
week days ; but in a short time it brought on 
a stroke of apoplexy, and he died. 

Lord Castlereagh, another great English 
statesman, did the same thing. It drove him 
crazy, and he blew his brains out with a pistol. 

A gentleman, who had been engaged as a 
merchant, in a very extensive business, for 
twenty years, once said to a friend ;— " Sir, if 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 157 

it had not been for the Sabbath, I should have 
been in my grave long ago.' 7 

" No doubt of it," said his friend ; " don't 

you remember Mr. H , who used to be one 

of our most successful merchants? He said 
he could not spare time for the Sabbath. He 
found it the best day of the week in which to 
plan new voyages. He always spent his Sab- 
baths in that way. Well, he has been in the 
Insane Asylum for years, and will probably die 
there." 

Men who labor six days in the week, and 
rest one, can do more work, in all kinds of 
business, and in all parts of the world, and do 
it better, than those who labor seven. This 
experiment has been tried, over and over again. 
It was tried once in a large grist-mill. For a 
number of years the mill had been kept going 
seven days in the week. Then the owner 
made a change. He ordered the men to stop 
the works at eleven o'clock on Saturday night, 
and not to start them till one o'clock on Mon- 
day morning. Thus he allowed his men a full 
Sabbath every week. The result was, that the 
14 



158 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



very same men actually ground fifty thousand 
bushels more in a year, than had ever been 
ground, in that establishment, in a single year 
before. 

And this is just as true in regard to horses 
and cattle as it is to men. 

A. gentleman was travelling, on horseback, 
in Pennsylvania. He stopped at a tavern on 
Saturday evening. The next morning the 
landlord asked him if he wanted to have his 
horse ready. " Not till to-morrow," said he. 
U I never travel on the Sabbath, unless in case 
of absolute necessity. I am on a long journey, 
and wish to perform it as soon as possible. I 
have been long accustomed to travel on horse- 
back, and have found, that if I stop on .the 
Sabbath, my horse will travel further during 
the week than if I do not." 

There were two neighbors, in the State of 
New York. They each started on the same 
day, with a drove of sheep, for a distant mar- 
ket. One started several hours before the 
other, and travelled every day, without re- 
gard to the Sabbath. The other rested every 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 159 

Sabbath. Yet this man arrived at the market 
first, with his sheep in better condition, and 
got better prices for them than the other. In 
giving an account of his journey, he said, that 
on Monday he drove his sheep about seventeen 
miles ; on Tuesday sixteen, and so on lessening- 
one each day till Saturday, when he drove them 
only about eleven miles. But on Monday, 
after resting the Sabbath, they could travel 
seventeen miles again ; and so on, each week. 
You see the sheep were wound up, by resting, 
as well as the man. But his neighbor's sheep, 
which were not allowed to rest on the Sab- 
bath, ran down before they arrived at the 
market, and could not travel more than six or 
eight miles a day. 

Thus we see that keeping the Sabbath is 
necessary to our health and life. 

It is necessary, also, to our prosperity and 
happiness. 

God designs the Sabbath to be a blessing to 
those who keep it, and He will make it a 
blessing to them. Those who neglect it will 
always suffer from it, in some way, or other. 



160 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



There were once fifteen young men, board- 
ing at a private boarding-house, in the city 
of New York. They were all engaged in 
business, with equally fair prospects of success. 
Six of them paid no regard to the Sabbath. 
In the course of time, all of those six either 
failed in business, or came to a miserable end. 
The other nine regarded the Sabbath, and with 
one exception they all prospered, and rose to 
prominent positions. 

A clergyman, who had been for many years 
chaplain to the Maryland Penitentiary, took 
great pains to find out what it was which first 
led the prisoners to go astray, and, in ninety- 
nine cases out of a hundred, he found that 
Sabbath-breaking was the beginning of their 
wicked courses. 

A young man was going to be hung for mur- 
der. As he stood upon the scaffold, he spoke 
to the great crowd, gathered round, in this 
manner ; — 

" My friends, you have come to see a man 
die. Let me advise you to take warning by me. 
The beginning of my ruin was Sabbath-break- 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 161 

ing. This led me into bad company ; — from 
bad company, I went to drinking ; — from 
drinking, to robbing orchards and gardens ; — 
from this, to house-breaking ; — and from this, 
to murder. Thus I have been brought to my 
present sad condition. Many of you are 
young : in an especial manner let me warn 
you to beware of Sabbath-breaking.' 7 

We often find people suffering loss from 
breaking the Sabbath, but they will surely 
prosper who keep it. 

There was a young farmer once, who had 
a large quantity of grain in the field, which 
was cut, and dried, and ready for the barn. 
From the appearance of the sky, one Sunday 
morning, he thought there was going to be 
a change of weather. Fearing that if a wet 
spell should set in, he might lose his har- 
vest, he called his men together, and pro- 
posed that they should go to work and gather 
in the grain. His grandmother, a good, pious 
woman, who lived with him, tried hard to 
persuade him not to do it. But he wouldn't 
listen to her. He and his men went to work 
14* 



162 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



with all their might. By the middle of the 
afternoon they had the grain all in. A thou- 
sand sheaves of grain were snugly stowed away 
in the barn. By that time it had begun to 
rain. "Now, grandmother," said the young 
man, with great glee, as he entered the house, 
"it's all safe. Let it storm as much as it 
pleases, my harvest is safe under my roof." 
Just as he spoke these words, there came a 
vivid flash of lightning, and a tremendous peal 
of thunder. It seemed to shake the house to 
its very foundations. Presently some one ex- 
claimed ; — " Oh ! the lightning has struck the 
barn ! " They all rushed out, and, sure enough, 
it was even so. The barn was in flames, and 
the sheaves which the Sabbath-breaker thought 
so safe, were all burned up before his eyes. 

T might go on for a long time telling you 
about different cases, which show the evil that 
follows from breaking the Sabbath, and the 
blessing that follows from keeping it ; but I 
will only mention one more. 

There was a boy, once, working in a factory, 
in England. His name was Willie. He re- 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 163 

eeived only five shillings a week ; but that 
was the principal dependence of his poor 
mother. He was a good boy, and always went 
with his mother to church on Sunday. His 
employer was not a Christian man. He had a 
short memory. He forgot God. On one oc- 
casion he was in a hurry to get some work done, 
and he gave notice to his hands, on Satur- 
day, that he wanted them to work all the next 
day. Willie was very much tried to know 
what to do. He couldn't bear to think of 
breaking the Sabbath. Yet, if he didn't go to 
work, he was afraid he should lose his place, 
and then, what would his poor mother do ? 
At last he resolved to do right, and leave the 
rest to God. So he went to church, and kept 
the Sabbath, as God has commanded. The 
next morning, as he was going into the fac- 
tory to begin his work, his master met him. 

" Where were you yesterday, sir ? " 

" I went to church, sir, " said Willie. 

" Then you may go to church again to-day, 
for I don't want you here," was his reply. 

Poor Willie felt very badly. When he 



164 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



thought of his mother, he couldn't help crying. 
But he thought that would do no good ; so he 
wiped away his tears, and set out to seek for 
a new situation. He called at several places, 
but the only answer he received was — " We 
don't want any boys." At last he called on 
a gentleman, who asked him why he had left 
his last place. His ready reply was — " Because 
I wouldn't work on Sunday, sir." The gen- 
tleman was pleased with this ; so he engaged 
him to work, and promised to give him ten 
shillings a week. So Willie found that God 
blessed him for keeping the Sabbath. 

Thus we see there is a reason that refers to 
ourselves why we should keep the Sabbath. 
It is necessary to our health and life : to our 
prosperity and happiness. 

But there is a reason that refers to our coun- 
try — why ive should keep the Sabbath day holy. 

Breaking the Sabbath does great harm to our 
country. Keeping the Sabbath does great good 
to it. 

You know there is a country in Europe 
called Holland. The land there is very low. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 165 

In some places it is lower than the sea. The 
only way in which they can keep the sea from 
overflowing it, is by building great walls, or 
banks of earth, which are called dykes. One 
of the greatest evils that could happen to Hol- 
land, would be to have those dykes broken 
down ; for then the sea would rush in, drown- 
ing the people, and destroying the country. 

In the Bible, wickedness is compared to 
floods of water. The greatest harm that can 
happen to a country is to have these floods let 
loose upon it. To protect us from this harm, 
God has given us the Sabbath. It is God's 
wall of defence around our country. Wherever 
the Sabbath is properly kept, like the dykes of 
Holland it rolls back the floods of wicked- 
ness, and prevents them from sweeping in ruin 
over the land. But every Sabbath-breaker is 
trying to throw down these protecting walls, 
and let the sea of wickedness come rushing in 
upon us. 

You know that in France, during the Revo- 
lution, at the close of the last century, they 
tried the experiment how they could get along 



166 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



without the Sabbath. They resolved to have 
no Sabbath. They burnt the Bible. They 
said there was no God ; no heaven ; no hell. 

The result was dreadful. All kinds of 
wickedness prevailed. The prisons and dun- 
geons were crowded full of prisoners. These 
prisoners were the best people in the land. 
They were taken, by cart-loads, every day, and 
beheaded. The blood of the people was shed 
like water. That time was called " The reign 
of Terror." It was the most dreadful time 
ever known in the history of the world. They 
had broken down the Sabbath — God's protect- 
ing wall — and wickedness rolled over the land 
in a flood. Every Sabbath-breaker is helping 
to do this same thing here. Breaking the 
Sabbath does great harm to the country. 

But keeping the Sabbath does great good to 
our country. 

You know that, in the land of Egypt, they 
have no rain. Instead of rain, they depend 
on the overflowing of the river Nile. This 
river runs all through Egypt. Every year it 
rises over its banks, and spreads itself gently 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 167 



over all the land. This overflowing of the 
Nile fertilizes the soil, and makes every thing 
grow. Thus the Nile is the greatest possible 
blessing to Egypt. The comfort of the people, 
and their very life, depend upon it. This 
river Nile rises far away up among the moun- 
tains of Abyssinia. 

Now, suppose that the governor of Egypt 
had entire power over the Nile. Suppose 
that, whenever he chose, he could stop, or 
dry up those distant springs, and prevent 
the river from rising. And suppose he should 
tell the people, that if they did not mind 
his laws, and do what he told them, he would 
dry up the springs of the river, and not let 
it rise. Then would it not be a very dan- 
gerous thing to disobey that governor ? And 
would it not be very important for the peo- 
ple of Egypt to try and please their gov- 
ernor ? Yes. And every man who kept his 
laws, would be doing the greatest good to his 
country. Well, now, we have no such river 
as the Nile in this country. For the power to 
fertilize our land, and make things grow in it, 



168 THE king's highway. 

we depend, not upon a river, but on the dews 
and the rains. And God, our Governor, has 
entire power over these. He can give them, 
or withhold them, just as He pleases. Break- 
ing the Sabbath provokes God, and tempts 
Him to take them away. Keeping the Sab- 
bath pleases Him, and He promises to send 
dews, and rains, and peace, and plenty on those 
who honor His Sabbaths. The Sabbath-keeper 
does great good to his country. 

Now we have had three questions. The 
first was — What does the Sabbath day mean ? 
It means a day of rest. The second was — ■ 
How may it be kept holy ? By stopping 
work ; — by worshipping God — thinking and 
learning about Him. The third was— Why 
should we keep it holy ? 

In answer to this, we had three reasons. 
One refers to God ; — His example and com- 
mand. Another refers to ourselves ; — our life, 
and health ; — our happiness, and prosperity. 
The other refers to our country. Breaking 
the Sabbath does it great harm ; keeping the 
Sabbath does it great good. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



169 



Now, my dear children, I hope, wherever 
you go, you will be the firm and decided 
friends of the Sabbath. Some people think 
they must keep the Sabbath in one place, 
though they may break it in another. 

"Johnny," said a mother to her little boy, 
who was playing marbles on the front pave- 
ment, "You mustn't play marbles there ; don't 
you know it is Sunday ? go into the yard, if 
you want to play." Johnny stopped a mo- 
ment, and then asked — " But, mother, isn't it 
Sunday in the yard, as well as on the pave- 
ment?" 

It is no particular place that makes the Sab- 
bath ; it belongs to all places. Some people 
think there is no harm in doing any thing on 
the Sabbath, if others do not see them. 

" Here, James," said a God-forgetting man, 
to his son, who attended the Sabbath-school, 
" I want you to carry this parcel to such a 
place." 

" Not to-day, father, if you please, for this is 
the Sabbath." 

" Put it in your pocket," said the father, 
15 



no 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



"God can see it in my pocket as well as 
out," answered the little boy. 

Whether at church, or at home ; in the city, 
or the country ; among friends, or among 
strangers — oh ! be sure that you always " Re- 
member the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 



HYMN ON THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 

This day is the Day of the Lord, 

And we to His Temple repair ; 
We come, at the call of His Word, 

To thank Him with praise and with prayer. 
Oh ! may we remember that He, 

The God of our spirit, is here ; 
Our actions He clearly can see, 

Our thoughts, ere they're spoken, can hear. 

We'll think not of work or of play, 

Nor talk of our meat or our drink ; 
But, find all our pleasure, to-day, 

In thoughts He would have us to think. 
We'll talk of His works and His ways, 

We'll tell o'er the marks of His love ; 
And learn the first notes of that praise 

We would sing with the ransomed above. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



And while we, thus gladly, receive 

The blessings this day can impart ; 
We'll strive, just as freely, to give 

To those who are stricken in heart. 
Oh ! why should their eyes be in tears, 

If we can their troubles remove ? 
Let us lighten the clouds of their fears, 

By the sunshine of kindness and love ! 

Thus, best shall we hallow the day, 

That tells us that Jesus arose ; 
We'll welcome its earliest ray, 

And keep it, in peace, till its close. 
And then, when these Sabbaths are o'er, 

We'll hope, at the last, to ascend 
Where sin shall disturb us no more, 

And the Sabbath of God have no end. 



VI. 

%\t $\U\ Ctrmmstt&mtni. 



" Honor thy father and thy mother ; that thy days may be long in 
the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." — Exodus xx. 12. 




you remember how many tables of 
stone there were, on which the Ten 
Commandments were written ? Two. 
There is another question I want to 
ask. I remember, when I was a little 



boy, this question was asked me, and I 
gave a wrong answer to it. One day the min- 
ister was catechising the children, in the church 
to which I went, and he asked us this question 
— " How many commandments were there on 
each of the tables ?" None of the other chil- 
dren answered the question, so I thought I 
would answer it. I was a little fellow, and 
had not learned much about the command- 

(172) 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 173 

ments ; but I understood enough about divi- 
sion, to know that the half of ten is five ; and, 
thinking that was the most natural division to 
make, I spoke out, and said — " Five on each, 
sir." The good minister shook his head, and 
said, a No ; that's not right." Then he went 
on to tell us that the commandments, when 
written on the two tables given to Moses, 
were divided, not according to number, but 
according to subjects. He told us that these 
ten commandments all referred to two great 
subjects. These are, our duty to God, and 
our duty to our neighbor. Our duty to God 
takes in four of the commandments. Our 
duty to our neighbor takes in six. And so 
there were four commandments on the first table, 
and six on the second. That was the way in 
which I learned how many commandments 
were on each of the tables. I never forgot 
the lesson I learned that day. It is about 
thirty-five years ago since this took place. It 
seems like a long while to look back to ; and 
yet I remember it just as clearly, as though it 
only occurred yesterday. 
15* 



174 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Now, we have got through with the first 
table of the commandments. "We have con- 
sidered the four which relate to our duty to 
God. To-day we begin the second table. The 
fifth commandment was the first on the second 
table. With this begins the subject of our 
duty to our neighbor. What are the words 
of the fifth commandment ? 

" Honor thy father and thy mother ; that 
thy days may be long in the land which the 
Lord thy God giveth thee." 

Notice, my dear children, how this second 
table of the commandments begins. God is 
going to show us our duty to our neighbor. 
How does He begin ? Not by telling us how 
kings ought to reign, or soldiers ought to fight, 
or how merchants ought to conduct their busi- 
ness ; but, how boys and girls ought to behave 
at home ! 

This is the most important thing for every 
young person to consider. God thought it 
important enough for Him to write it, with 
his own finger, on a table of stone. That 
shows us how very important it is. When 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 1*75 



you want to do any thing well, you must be 
careful to begin right. 

Suppose you are going to raise a tune. Well, 
you must be careful to start it on the proper 
key. But if you want to sing " Old Hundred/' 
and start it with the key-note of " Yankee 
Doodle/' why you never could get on with it. 
You would have to stop. You would be sure 
to break down, and have to begin again. 

And so, if you begin to put up a house, and 
lay the foundation wrong ; or to build a ship, 
and make a mistake in laying the keel ; you'll 
have to take it all down, and begin again. 
Oh ! it is very important to begin right. It is 
so in every thing. And it is so in trying to 
do our duty to our neighbor. 

The fifth commandment shows us how we 
must begin to do this. We must begin at 
home. You show me a boy or girl, who is not 
a good son or daughter, who does not honor 
father and mother, and I will show you one 
who will not make a good man, or woman. 
What does the fifth commandment require us 
to do? To honor our father and mother. 



176 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



This starts two questions for us to consider. 
The first is : How are we to honor our 

FATHER AND MOTHER ? 

The second is : Why should we do this ? 

You see there are just two words on which 
these questions hang. One is the word — How ? 
The other is the word — Why ? 

If you look into your wardrobe you will 
see pegs, or hooks, on which things are hung. 
Just so these two words — How ? and, Why ? 
are the hooks on which this whole sermon will 
be made to hang. There are four things to 
hang on the first hook ; and two on the second. 

Now we come to the first hook ; — How ? 
How are we to honor our parents ? Four 
things are to go on this hook. If we describe 
these things according to grammar, we may 
call one of them a noun ; that is, the name of 
a thing ; the other three are adjectives, which 
qualify the noun, or show what sort of a thing 
it is. 

The first thing to go upon this hook — How ? 
— is the word — obedience. 

To honor our parents means to obey them. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 177 

But then, our obedience must be of the right 
kind, or else it will be no honor to them. 

The other day I was coming home from New- 
York. In the seat before me, in the car, sat a 
plain woman, with two children, a boy and a 
girl. They were going out to Ohio. I was 
sorry to see that the children didn't seem to 
mind much what their mother said. After 
a while, I saw the mother trying to get some- 
thing out of a basket on another seat. I 
thought, perhaps, she had some cakes or candy 
in it, and that she wanted to give these to the 
children, to make them mind what she said. 
But when she got the basket open, she drew 
out from it, not cakes or candy, but a rope, 
about a yard long, and as thick as my little 
finger. It had a knot on each end of it ; and 
she doubled it up, and held it in her hand, and 
shook it at the children, whenever she told 
them to do any thing. She would say — " John, 
sit clown there," and shake the rope at him. 
Down John would sit. 

" Mary, move over into that other seat." 

" John, put down that window, this minute." 



178 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



John obeyed, instantly. He knew what would 
come if he didn't. These children obeyed their 
mother, but did they honor her ? No. They 
didn't honor their mother ; they honored the 
rope. That kind of obedience might be called 
rope's-end obedience. It isn't good for much. 
The motive that leads to it is the fear of pun- 
ishment. This is a wrong motive. But if we 
want to have right actions, we must be sure 
and have right motives. We ought to obey 
our parents, because it is the will of God that 
we should do so ; and because we love them. 
These are the proper motives for obedience 
to our parents. What are these motives ? 
The loill of God ; and love to our parents. 

Now, suppose that the woman, I have spoken 
of, had pursued a different plan. Suppose 
that, instead of shaking that rope at her chil- 
dren all the while, she had taken her Bible 
and said to them ; — 

" My dear children, this is God's word. In 
it God speaks to us, and tells us what He wants 
us to do. Let me read to you what God says 
about children. Here in Exodus, 20th chapter 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 179 

and 12th verse, He says — ; Honor thy father 
and mother ; that thy days may be long in the 
land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' 
Now, you see, when I tell you to do any thing, 
or not to do it, it is just the same as if God 
told you. When you obey me, you obey God. 
"When you disobey me, you disobey God : yes, 
the great, the good, the glorious God, wliom 
all the angels of heaven obey. Only think 
what a dreadful thing it must be to disobey 
Him !" 

Suppose she had spoken to them in this way, 
and that, instead of scolding, and slapping, 
and storming at them continually, she had been 
kind, and tender, and affectionate, in her treat- 
ment of them. Then she would have taught 
them to obey her from the right motives — be- 
cause it is the will of God, and because they 
loved her. After this she might have left the 
rope behind her. 

Now we have got one thing on the hook — 
Mow ? It is the noun — obedience. Obedience 
is necessary if we would honor our parents. 
But it must be the right kind of obedience. 



180 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Here we want our adjectives to qualify the 
noun. 

It must be a ready obedience. Now we have 
two things on the hook — How ? 

If we want to honor our parents by our 
obedience, we must not stop to ask questions 
about what we are told to do, or try to find 
out the reason for it. It is reason enough that 
our parents tell us to do a thing. 

I was reading, the other day, about two 
little girls, who had a dear, good mother, whom 
they loved very much. She was poor, how- 
ever, and often had to be away from home all 
day, on business. On these occasions, the 
children always looked forward, with great 
interest, to their mother's return in the even- 
ing. That was the happiest hour of the day 
to them. 

One day, when she was absent, they had 
been making something nice for her, whicL 
they knew would please her very much. This 
made them unusually anxious for their mother's 
return that day. The hours rolled slowly 
away, and it seemed, to the impatient waiters, 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 181 

as if the evening never would come. At last 
they spied their mother coming up the lane. 
Then they scampered down the garden walk 
to meet her. But instead of opening her arms 
to receive them, as usual, they saw her motion- 
ing them to go back. When she got nearer, 
she said, in a stern voice, " Go back, directly, 
into the house, and don't come near me till I 
call you." 

This was a great disappointment to the poor 
girls. One of them began to cry, as if her 
heart would break. She couldn't understand 
it, and thought it very hard for their mother 
to treat them so. The other told her to wait 
a little while, for she was sure that mother had 
some good reason for what she did, which 
would make it all right, when it wa s explained 
to them. 

Presently, when their mother had changed 
her dress, and washed herself, she came out 
of her room, with her usual smile upon her 
face, and was as kind to them as ever. Then 
she told her little girls that on her way home, 
she had stopped to visit a poor family. On 
16 



182 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



entering the house, she found that one of the 
children had just died of the scarlet fever. 
She had helped to lay out the dead child. 
They knew that that dreadful disease was 
catching. It is often carried in a person's 
clothes, so that others may take it in that way. 
She was afraid her daughters might take it, if 
they came near her, before she had had time 
to wash, and change her clothes. This was 
the reason why she told them to go back, and 
keep away from her. Then the girls saw how 
right it was to obey their mother readily, 
whether they understood the reason for what 
they were told to do, or not. Beady obedience 
is necessary, if we would honor our parents. 

But absent obedience, as well as present, is 
necessary. 

I mean by this, that we must obey our par- 
ents when we are away from them, as well as 
when we are with them. Now we have three 
things on the hook — How ? Obedience ; ready ; 
absent. 

A little boy, about seven years old, was on 
a visit to a lady, who was very fond of him. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



183 



Although he was a great way from home, he 
behaved very well, and endeavored to do 
every thing that he thought would have pleased 
his parents, had they been present. 

One day, at breakfast, there was some hot 
bread upon the table. It was handed to him ; 
but he refused to take it. 

" Don't you like hot bread ?" asked the lady 
of the house. 

" Yes, ma'am," said he, " I'm very fond of it." 

" Then, my dear, why don't you take 
some ?" 

" Because my father doesn't want me to eat 
hot bread." 

" But your father is a great way off, and will 
never know any thing about it. You had bet- 
ter take some for once, if you like it. It will 
do no harm." 

This was very wrong in the lady. She 
ought to have been ashamed of herself. She 
was tempting her little visitor to break the 
fifth commandment. "But listen to the little 
boy's answer. " No," said he, " I will not dis- 
obey my father, although he is not here to see 



184 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



me. He might never know it, but I should 
know it, and that would be enough." 

This boy honored his father, by his obedience, 
when absent. 

Let me tell you about another boy, who 
honored his father in this way. A circus had 
come to the town in which he lived. The 
great tent was pitched, and the sound of the 
lively music drew great crowds, especially of 
the young people, to the ground. Among 
these a little boy was seen, looking about, 
with a great deal of curiosity. " Holloa, 
Johnny !" said a man who knew him — " going 
to the circus ?" " No, sir," answered Johnny ; 
" father don't like 'em." 

" Oh ! well, I'll give you money to go, 
Johnny," said the man. 

" Father don't approve of them," answered 
Johnny. 

" Well, go in for once, and I'll pay for you." 

" No, sir," said Johnny, " my father would 
give me money, if he thought it best ; besides, 
I've got twenty-five cents of my own, and that's 
twice the price of admission." 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



185 



" I'd go, for once, Johnny, if I were you ; 
it's wonderful, the way the horses do," said 
the man. " Your father wouldn't know it." 

" I sha'n't do it," said the boy. 

" Why not ?" asked the man. 

" 'Cause," said Johnny, twirling his bare 
toes in the sand, " after I had been, I couldn't 
look my father right in the eye, and I can 
now." 

Yes, that little fellow honored his father. 
Wheneyer you are tempted to do any thing 
which would prevent you from looking your 
father, or mother, " right in the eye," you may 
depend, there is something wrong about it. 

But if we would honor our parents, as this 
commandment requires, our obedience must 
not only be ready, and absent, as well as pres- 
ent ; it must also be affectionate obedience. 

This is the fourth word on the hook — How ? 
We have on it — obedience • ready ; absent ; 
affectionate. 

We must obey our parents out of love to 
them. If we love them as we ought, we shall 
not, only do all that they tell us, but shall try 
16* 



186 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



to do every thing that we know will please 
them, whether they tell us to do so or not. 

You all remember the story of Washington, 
when he was a boy. He had set his heart on 
entering the navy, and going to sea. His 
mother had yielded a reluctant consent. She 
said he might go ; but, it was evident that she 
wanted him to stay. A midshipman's commis- 
sion had been obtained for him. The vessel 
was about to sail. The servant was at the 
door with his trunk. He went in to say good- 
bye to his mother. He found her in tears. 
He saw the look of deep distress that was in 
her face ; but she said not a word. That was 
enough for him. He went out, and said to his 
servant, ' : Take my trunk back again to my 
room. I will not break my mother's heart, to 
please myself." He gave up his commission, 
and stayed at home. 

When his mother heard what he had done, 
she said, — " George, God has promised to 
bless those who honor their parents, and He 
will bless you !" How true those words were ! 
God did bless George Washington ; and made 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 18*7 

him a blessing to his country, and to the world. 
Washington gained many victories afterwards, 
but this was the most important victory he 
ever gained. He conquered the British, at 
Trenton, and at Monmouth, and at Yorktown. 
But when he gave up his own will, to please 
his mother, he conquered himself. And the 
Bible tells us, that, " He who ruleth his own 
spirit, is greater than he that taketh a city." 

Affectionate obedience, ivill lead tis to shoiv all 
possible respect and love for our parents. 

You sometimes hear children speak very 
lightly of their father and mother. They 
break the fifth commandment when they do so. 
The Hon. Thomas H. Benton was for many 
years a United States senator. When mak- 
ing a speech in New York once, he turned to 
the ladies present, and spoke about his mother 
in this way ; — " My mother asked me never to 
use tobacco, and I have never touched it, from 
that day to this. She asked me never to gam- 
ble, and I never learned to gamble. When I 
was seven years old she asked me not to drink. 
I made a resolution of total abstinence. That 



188 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



resolution I have never "broken. And now, 
whatever service I may have been able to 
render to my country, or whatever honor I 
may have gained, I owe it to my mother." 
That was honoring his mother. 

We read, in ancient history, of a certain 
city which was besieged, and at length obliged 
to surrender. There were two brothers in 
that city, who had, in some way or other, 
obliged the conquering general. In conse- 
quence of this, he gave them permission to 
leave the city before it was set on fire, and to 
take with them as much of their most valuable 
property as they could carry. Presently the 
young men appeared at the gates of the city, 
one of them carrying his father, and the other 
his mother. They regarded them as the most 
valuable of their possessions. That was hon- 
oring their parents, indeed ! 

Affectionate obedience tuill lead us to take care 
of our parents, and provide for their comfort 
in every way we can. 

In heathen countries, we know, it is very 
common for children to cast off all care of 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 189 

their parents. When they get sick, or grow 
old, their children either forsake them, and 
leave them to perish with hunger ; or actually 
put them to death, and so get them out of the 
way. But they have no Bible to teach them 
the fifth commandment. They have never 
heard God's voice saying to them ; — " Honor 
thy father and mother." But we have this 
commandment. And God expects us to take 
care of our parents, and do all we can to make 
them comfortable, when they are sick, or aged, 
or poor. It is a great privilege to have a 
dear father, or mother, to shelter and comfort 
when growing old. I thank God for allow- 
ing me this privilege, and I would not give it 
up, for the wealth of the world. 

There is a celebrated charity school in Lon- 
don, called the " Blue Coat School." It bears 
this name, because the scholars there all wear 
blue coats, with long skirts to them. 

I remember reading about one of the boys 
in this school, who was in the habit of saving 
part of his own meals, and all the bits and 
scraps he could gather from the table, after 



L90 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



their meals were over. He used to put them in 
a box near his bed, and keep them there. This 
led the other scholars to talk against him very 
much. At first they thought he was greedy, and 
kept them there to eat at night, when the rest 
were asleep. Some of them watched him, but 
he was never seen to eat them. 

Once or twice a week he used to make a 
bundle of the contents of the box, and go 
away with it. 

Then the boys thought that he meant to sell 
them, and keep the money. They concluded 
that he was a mean, miserly fellow. They re- 
fused to let him play with them. They joked 
about him, and called him hard names, and per- 
secuted him in many ways. But he bore it all 
patiently, and still went on, saving and carry- 
ing away all he could honestly get. 

At last they complained of him to their 
teacher. The boy was watched, when he took 
away the next bundle. He was seen to go 
into an old worn-out building, occupied by 
some of the poorest people in the city. There 
he made his way up to the fourth story of 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



191 



the building, and left his bundle with a poor 
old couple. On inquiry it was found that 
these were his parents. They were honest, 
worthy people, whom age and poverty had 
reduced to such a condition of want, that their 
chief dependence was the food thus furnished 
by their son. He was willing to deprive him- 
self of food, and bear the reproach and per- 
secution of his school-mates, in order to do 
what he could for the support of his parents. 

When the managers of the school heard of 
it, they provided relief for the poor boy's 
parents, and gave him a silver medal, for his 
praiseworthy conduct. Certainly he deserved 
the medal. That boy kept the fifth command- 
ment. He honored his father and mother. 

One day a minister was hearing the children 
of his congregation say the Catechism. He 
asked a little boy to repeat the fifth command- 
ment. He did so, very well. " Now, my little 
man," said the minister, ''do you know what 
it means, to ' honor your father and mother V " 
Instead of trying to explain it, in a low, trem- 
bling voice, and with his face all covered with 



192 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



blushes, he said ; — " Yesterday, I showed some 
strange gentlemen over the mountain. The 
sharp stones cut my feet, and the gentlemen 
saw they were bleeding. They gave me some 
money to buy me shoes. I gave it to my 
mother, for she had no shoes either, and I 
thought I could go barefoot better than she 
could." 

How clearly that dear boy understood the 
commandment ! Yes, and how sweetly he 
practised it ! 

But what a beautiful example Jesus set us 
here ! See, there He is, hanging on the Cross, 
outside of the walls of Jerusalem. A little 
company of women are standing near the 
cross. The mother of Jesus is among them, 
and so is His disciple John. The great, rough 
nails have been driven through His hands and 
feet. The blood is trickling down from the 
cruel wounds. His limbs are quiveriug with 
the pain. Oh ! how dreadful His sufferings 
must be ! Yet He forgets His own pain and 
agony, to think about, and take care of, His 
mother 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 193 

We read in the gospel ; — " Now, when Jesus 
therefore saw His mother, and the disciple stand- 
ing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His moth- 
er, Behold thy Son ! Then saith He to the 
disciple, Behold thy mother ! And from that 
hour that disciple took her unto his own home." 

How wonderful this was ! How beautifully 
it sets the example of Jesus before us, to teach 
us how to honor our father and mother ! 

Now we have done with the first question ; 
How are we to honor our parents ? 

On the hook — How? we have hung how 
many words ? Four. What are they ? Obe- 
dience ; ready ; absent ; affectionate. 

The second question is ; — Why should we 

DO THIS ? 

Which word in this question makes the hook, 
on which the whole question hangs ? Why. 

We have two words to hang on this hook. 
They are the words — blessing— and — curse. 

There is a blessing promised to those who 
keep this commandment ; and a curse de- 
nounced upon those who break it. The bless- 
ing is spoken of in the commandment itself : 
11 



194 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



the curse is spoken of in other parts of the 
Bible. 

Here we have a blessing promised to those 
who keep this commandment. 

God says, " Honor thy father and thy moth- 
er ; that thy days may be long in the land 
which the Lord thy God giveth thee." It is 
worth while to notice, that this is the only 
one of the commandments which has a dis- 
tinct promise connected with it. Hence, the 
apostle says — Ephes. vi. 2 — " Children, obey 
your parents, which is the first commandment 
with promise.' 7 

But let us see what this promise means. 
Does it mean that all persons who obey their 
parents shall live to a great age ? No. It can 
not mean this, because we know that a great 
many good, and obedient children, die while 
they are quite young. You must remember 
that God gave these commandments to the 
Jewish nation just before they went in to take 
possession of the land of Canaan. They were 
to occupy that land during their good be- 
havior. And here God promises, that if they 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 195 

keep His commandments, and especially this 
one, He would let them stay in that land, 
a long, long time. This is one thing that 
the promise means. 

But this promise refers to us, as well as to 
them. The Jews considered long life, as one 
of the greatest of temporal blessings. And 
the meaning of the promise, in reference to us, 
is, that God will surely reward those persons 
who honor their parents, even in this life, with 
such blessings as He sees to be best for them. 

Let me show you what I mean. Gustavus, 
the king of Sweden, in one of his journeys, 
stopped at the cabin of a poor peasant, and 
asked for a drink. An interesting young girl 
gave him a drink, without knowing who he 
was. She seemed to be in great poverty. 
The king became very much interested in her, 
and offered, if she would come to Stockholm 
to put her in a better position. The girl said, 
she would not leave her present home. " Why 
not ?" asked the king. " Because," said the 
girl, " my mother is poor, and sickly, and has 
no one but me to take care of and comfort her ; 



196 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



and nothing that any one could offer, would 
tempt me to leave her." 

The king entered the cabin to see the girl's 
mother. There, stretched on a "bedstead, whose 
only covering was a little straw, he beheld an 
aged female, weighed down with years, and 
many infirmities. His heart was touched at 
the sight, and he said ; — " I am sorry, my poor 
woman, to find you in so destitute and suffer- 
ing a state." 

"Alas, sir !" said the aged woman, " I should 
be miserable, were it not for the kindness and 
attention of that dear, good girl. She labors 
to support me, and does every thing she can 
for my comfort. May God remember it to 
her for good," she added, as she wiped away 
a tear. 

The good king could hardly speak. Pres- 
ently he slipped a purse of gold into the hand 
of the daughter, and said ; — " Continue to take 
care of your mother, and I will help you to 
do it more effectually. Good-bye." 

On his return to Stockholm, he made arrange- 
ments to have a sum of money paid to the 



" 1 am sorry, my poor woman, to find you in so destitute and suf- 
fering a state." 



Kkg's Highway. 



p. 196. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 197 

poor woman every year, enough, to keep her, 
comfortably, as long as she lived ; and after 
her death, to be continued to her daughter. 
This was the way in which God fulfilled the 
promise of this commandment to that young 
girl. It was the king who did it ; but it was 
God who put it into his heart to do it. He is 
the God, " from whom all holy desires, all 
good counsels, and all just works do proceed." 

Let me give you another illustration of the 
same thing. 

There was an honest tradesman who lived, 
and kept a shop, in a small town in France, 
some distance from Paris. He had a large 
family ; and by patient industry, and atten- 
tion to business, he had managed to main- 
tain them comfortably, and earn for himself a 
good reputation. But, at last, owing to the un- 
expected loss of a large sum of money, he was 
unable to pay what he owed to the merchants 
in Paris, from whom he bought his goods. 
He went to see his creditors. He told them 
frankly how he was situated, and begged them 
to allow him a longer time, and let him have 
17* 



198 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



some more goods to carry on his business with ; 
and he would pay them as soon as he could. 
They believed he was honest, and consented to 
do so, all except one man. This was the per- 
son to whom he owed the most. His wealth 
was very great, but his heart was very hard. 
He said ; — "No, sir, you are going to fail, and 
I'll make you pay me at once." 

An officer was sent immediately to arrest the 
poor man, and put him in jail. From his cell, 
in the prison, he wrote home to his wife and 
family, telling them of his situation. This 
threw them into great distress. At first they 
knew not what to do. After talking the matter 
over, a good while, the eldest son, of the family, 
a fine young man, resolved to go to Paris and 
see this cruel creditor, and try to persuade 
him to release his father from prison. 

He arrived at the house of the merchant, sent 
in his name, and asked permission to see him. 
The proud, money-loving man, thought of 
course the son had come to pay his father's 
debts. He admitted him into his presence ; 
but as soon as he found out the object of the 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



199 



young man's visit, he flew into a violent pas- 
sion, and declared lie would eitlier have the 
money, or the bones of his father. On hear- 
ing this, the young man fell down on his knees, 
and with uplifted hands, and tears rolling down 
his cheeks, he addressed the merchant in this 
manner ; — 

" Sir," said he, " if I go home without my 
father, I shall see my poor mother die with a 
broken heart. The credit of my father's shop 
will be utterly ruined ; and we, his children, 
will be turned out as beggars, and vagabonds, 
into the open street. I have this one, the last 
request to make ; — let me be sent to jail in- 
stead of my father, and keep me there till all 
that he owes you is paid !" 

The merchant walked up and down the room 
in great agitation. The young man continued 
his cries and entreaties. At last, quite over- 
come by the affection and devotion of the 
noble-minded youth, he took him kindly by 
the hand, and told him to rise. He then gave 
him an order for the release of his father. 
Soon after he took the young man into busi- 



200 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



ness with him, gave him his only daughter in 
marriage, and finally left him the heir of all 
his property. 

What a beautiful illustration this is of that 
passage of scripture, which says — " Children, 
obey your parents, that it may be well with 
you." 

This young man honored his parents, and 
God blessed him. 

We ought to honor our parents, because of 
the blessing promised to those who do so. This 
is one thing on the hook — Why ? It is the 
blessing. 

But there is another thing on this hook. It 
is the curse. There is a curse denounced 
against those who do not honor their parents. 
I said this curse is not mentioned in the com- 
mandment. We find it in other places. In 
Dent, xxvii. 16, we read these solemn words ; 
— " Cursed be he that setteth light by his father 
or his mother." In Proverbs xxx. 1*7, God 
speaks in this awful way ; — " The eye that 
mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey 
his mother, the ravens of the valley shall 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 201 



pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat 
it." 

It is enough to make the flesh creep upon 
our bones, and the blood run cold in our yeins, 
to read these passages. God's curse hangs 
over every boy and girl who refuses to keep 
this fifth commandment. They can not pros- 
per in their ways. 

Let me give you one or two illustrations of 
the way in which God's curse sometimes comes 
on those who break this commandment. 

" Mother, let me go to the common, and see 
them fire the cannon," said George, to his 
mother, on the Fourth of July. 

" No, my son, I had rather you would not," 
said his mother. " Accidents so often happen, 
that I am afraid to have you go." 

" But other boys go, mother." 

" Yes, my son, I know it ; but other boys 
get hurt, too. If you go, Willie will want to 
go, too, and I shall feel anxious about you all 
the time." 

George was the oldest son of his widowed 
mother, and it was not strange that she feared 



202 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



to have him exposed to danger. But, in spite 
of his mother's command, he resolved that he 
would go ; so, while his mother was busy get- 
ting tea, he stole out at the "back door, and 
away he ran to the common, intending to get 
"back before his mother missed him. 

Just as he arrived there, the men were load- 
ing the cannon for the last time. They wanted 
to make a very loud noise. To help in doing 
this they put in turf, and other things. Now, 
all is ready. The match is lighted. It is 
applied to the touch-hole. Bang ! goes the 
gun, with a tremendous explosion. It has 
burst. The fragments fly in every direction. 
George has just reached the ground. Jle is 
standing a good way off, yet he is the only one 
injured. A large piece of the cannon hits 
him ; it cuts him almost in two. In an instant 
he is dead. Ah ! how dreadful for his poor 
mother ! But how still more dreadful for the 
poor boy ! — to be killed in the very act of 
breaking God's commandment ! 

Let me give you another illustration. 

There was a poor widow, in a New England 



•THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 203 

town, who had two sons. The eldest, Charles, 
was ten years old. He began, soon after his 
father's death, to go with wicked companions. 
In spite of his mother's entreaties and com- 
mands, he would go with them. Well, before 
he was twelve years old, he was taken up for 
stealing. Then he was taken away from his 
mother, and put in a reform school, or house 
of refuge, in a distant city. 

He had not been there long before he was 
taken sick. A dangerous fever broke out 
among the boys. A kind-hearted gentleman 
gave his mother money to pay the expenses of 
the journey, and she went to visit her sick 
boy. When she reached the place, she found 
him very ill. He was too ill to be with the 
rest of the boys. His mother found him in a 
room by himself. 

There he lay, stretched upon the bed, and 
looking so pale, and thin, that even his mother 
hardly knew him. It was a sad, and sorrow- 
ful meeting. She talked with him, and wept 
over him a long while. Then she took out a 
little handkerchief, and wiped his forehead 



204 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



with it, and told him it was his brother's at 
home. 

" Oh ! mother," said Charles, " lay it on my 
breast : I want it near my heart." Soon he 
asked ; — 

" Does brother mind you ?" 

" Sometimes," she replied. 

" Oh ! tell him to obey yon always, always. 
If I had done so, I never should have been 
here." And he buried his face in the bed- 
clothes, and sobbed, and cried as if his heart 
would break. Poor Charles died of the fever 
caught in the place to which he was taken for 
breaking the fifth commandment. 

One more illustration is all I will give you. 
Some years ago there was an Irish gentle- 
man, residing in the western part of Pennsyl- 
vania. At one time he was very well off. 
He had an only son, who was very wild, and 
wicked. He squandered all his father's prop- 
erty, and reduced him to poverty. The old 
man lost his wife. Then his health failed ; 
and, to fill up the cup of his sorrows, he lost 
his sight. He was left poor, friendless, blind, 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



205 



forsaken. At last he found a shelter in the 
alms-house of Franklin county. 

One day, while the blind old man was living 
in the alms-house, his wicked, and ungrateful 
son, passed through the place. He was told 
of his father's situation, and that he wanted 
him to come and see him ; but, although he 
passed within two hundred yards of the alms- 
house, he refused to stop and see the kind 
father whom he had ruined. Now, mark the 
result. 

The very day he passed the alms-house, on 
his way to Gettysburg, in an open carriage, he 
was overtaken by a severe storm, and caught 
a bad cold. The cold fell upon his eyes. In 
a. little while he lost his sight entirely. He 
lay sick at Gettysburg till all his money was 
spent. Then he was taken to the Franklin 
county alms-house. On the very day that he 
was taken in, his father, who had died the day 
before, was taken out. He was put into the 
same room ; he died upon the same bed ; he 
was buried in the same grave ; and then his 
guilty spirit followed his neglected, and broken- 
18 



206 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



hearted father to the judgment seat of Christ. 
What a fearful illustration this was of the 
solemn words ; — " Cursed be he that setteth 
light by his father, or his mother." 

Now, my dear children, we have had two 
questions asked, and answered. How are we 
to keep this commandment? and why should 
we do it ? 

How ? and Why ? are the important words 
in these questions. They are the two hooks 
on which the whole sermon hangs. On the 
first hook — Hoio ? — we hung four words ; — 
one noun, and three adjectives. The noun is 
— obedience. The adjectives are — ready ; ab- 
sent; affectionate. 

On the other hook — Why? — we hung two 
words, viz : the blessing ; — and the curse. 

Here we have the whole sermon reduced, as 
it were, into just eight words ; — How? — Obe- 
dience ; ready ; absent ; affectionate. Why ? 
blessing ; curse. You might almost write them 
on your finger-nail. These eight words form 
the bones that make the skeleton of this ser- 
mon. It is easy to remember them ; and then 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



207 



you can hardly help remembering the rest, in 
connection with them. 

My earnest hope is, that you will all re- 
solve, by the help of God, always to keep 
this commandment. And if you really want 
that help, there is nothing better for you to 
do than, every day, to use those two short, 
and appropriate prayers, which we use in 
church, every Sunday morning, when we re- 
peat the commandments. 

This is one ; — " Lord, have mercy upon us ; 
and incline our hearts to keep this law 1" 

And this is the other ; — " Lord, have mercy 
upon us ; and write all these Thy laws in our 
hearts, we beseech Thee !" Offer these pray- 
ers with all your hearts, and ask God to 
hear you, for Jesus' sake. This will be be- 
ginning right. And so, by the help of God 
you will be able to — " Honor your father, 
and mother ; that your days may be long in 
the land which the Lord your God giveth 



208 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



HYMN ON THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

Thou shalt honor thy father, the guide of thy youth, 
And yield him the homage of love and of truth ; 
Thou shalt honor thy mother, whose love, unto thee, 
The greatest of G-od's earthly blessings shall be. 

How sweet, when we hear this Commandment, to say, 
" Lord, if Thou wilt help me, I'll strive to obey ; 
I'll bend down the force of my own stubborn will, 
And bid every passionate feeling, Be still ! 

My father ! my mother ! How true should I prove ! 
How well should I serve you ; how faithfully love ! 
How yield to each wish the regard that is due ; 
And do all the things you would have me to do ! 

The love of a parent — oh ! who can repay ? 
From life's early dawn to the close of its day, 
It shines on each pathway ; it blesses each lot ; 
And remembers us still ; though by all else forgot ! 

If thus earthly parents regard us with love, 
Oh ! what shall we say of our Father above ? 
Lord, make us Thy children, in spirit, that we 
May be always just what Thou wouldst have us to he ! 



VII. 



%\t 8ixt\ €Bmmx\x)mtrtt. 




" Thou shalt not kill."— Exodus xx. 13. 

HIS is one of the shortest of the ten 
commandments. There are only four 
words in it. The second command- 
ment has ninety-one words in it, and 
the fourth commandment has ninety- 
seven. It is wonderful to notice how very 
short God's laws are. Here is God's great 
law against killing, written out in four short 
words, or just sixteen letters. 

Now, if you go to a lawyer, and ask him 
to show you one of man's laws against kill- 
ing, you will find it very different from this. 
He will go to his book case, and take down 
one of his law-books, and turn to the chapter 
on killing ; and then, if you compare that 
18* ( 209 ) 



210 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



chapter with this 13th verse of the 20th chap- 
ter of Exodus, you will see what a wonderful 
difference there is between God's law and 
man's law. 

I did this very thing, the other day, when I 
was beginning this sermon. I borrowed the 
law-book, from a friend, and took it to my study. 
I found that the chapter on killing contained 
twenty-four large pages, closely printed, and 
in small type. I did not attempt to count the 
number of words in that chapter. It would 
have taken too much time. It would have 
been almost like trying to count the grains in 
a handful of sand, from the sea-shore. There 
were thousands of words ; yes, tens of thou- 
sands, and, perhaps, hundreds of thousands of 
words in that chapter, which contained man's 
law about killing, for every single word in 
this sixth commandment, which contains God's 
law about killing. 

" THOU SHALT NOT KILL ! " 

This is the commandment we are to consider 
to-day. It is one of the most important of all 
the commandments. 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



211 



But, you notice there are no limits put to 
this law. It would seem, when we first look 
at it, as if it were unlawful for us ever to kill 
any thing. Can this be the meaning of the 
law ? Certainly not. You know we all eat 
meat. Every day we have upoD our tables, 
beef, or mutton, or veal, or chickens, or fish. 
The oxen, or sheep, or calves, from which this 
meat came, were killed before those joints of 
meat could be obtained for our tables. The 
butchers killed those cattle. Was it wrong 
for them to do so ? Not at all. God has 
given us permission to kill these animals. He 
created them to furnish food for man. 

Again ; — in some parts of the country hun- 
gry wolves, and savage bears, prowl about. 
They devour the sheep of the farmer, and do 
great mischief. The farmer tries all he can 
to kill these savage beasts. Is it wrong for 
him to do so ? No. 

Sometimes we hear of dogs going mad, and 
biting people. Then every one tries to kill 
them. Is this wrong ? No. 

A good many years ago, king George the 



212 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Third, of England, sent an army over to this 
country, to burn our towns, and kill our peo- 
ple, and make our forefathers submit to unjust 
laws. General Washington raised an army, 
and fought against the English. Was this 
right ? Certainly. It is right to protect our 
lives, and liberties. If any are killed in doing 
this, it is not our fault. 

Again ; — suppose a wicked man knows there 
is money in a certain house. He resolves to 
get it. Before he can do this 7 he will have to 
kill the people in the house. This he deter- 
mines to do. He arms himself with a sharp 
knife. At midnight he enters the house. He 
creeps softly to the bedside, where the inmates 
of the house are quietly sleeping. He plunges 
his knife into their bosoms. He leaves them 
weltering in their blood. He clutches the 
gold, which he covets, in his blood-stained 
hands, and goes away. 

But soon he is found out. He is proved 
guilty of the murder. He is condemned to 
be hung. Is it right to put him to death ? 
Certainly. God tells us, over and over again, 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 213 

in the Bible, that "the murderer shall be put 
to death." 

Some people say that these are Old Tes- 
tament laws, but that the New Testament 
has set them aside. This is a mistake. It 
is true that the New Testament breathes a 
spirit of peace, and love, in our intercourse 
with one another ; but it says nothing to 
magistrates about not putting murderers to 
death. I only remember one place in the 
New Testament, where the duty of a ruler, 
or magistrate, in this respect, is spoken of, 
and there — Rom. xiii. 14 — St. Paul tells us 
that the ruler, — " beareth not the sword in 
vain ; for he is the minister of God, a revenger 
to execute wrath, upon him that doeth evil." 
It is perfectly plain, from this passage, that 
the New Testament, as well as the Old, teaches 
us that it is right for magistrates and rulers to 
put murderers to death. If we pretend to say 
that it is not right, we set ourselves up as 
being wiser, or kinder, or better than God. 

Well, then, it is plain that there are some 
limits to this commandment. When God says j 



214 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



— " Thou shalt not kill ; " He does not mean 
that we should not kill savage beasts, or poi- 
sonous reptiles, when they come in our way. 
He does not mean that we should not defend 
our lives, and liberties, when they are assault- 
ed. And He does not mean that magistrates 
should not put hard-hearted, blood-thirsty mur- 
derers to death. These are exceptions to the 
commandment. In such cases, to kill is not 
to break this law. 

Now we come to the commandment itself. 
" Thou shalt not kill." 

There is one question to be asked, and an- 
swered here. What does this commandment 

FORBID ? 

It forbids injury to the lives of others ; 
and injury to our own lives. 

We may do injury to the lives of others, by 
our actions, and by our feelings. 

If a man meets another in the woods, and 
plunges a dagger into his breast, that he may 
get his watch, and money, does he break this 
commandment ? Yes. But, suppose that, in- 
stead of getting his money in this way, he makes 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



215 



a poisonous drink, and sells it to the man, 
without telling him what is in it ; would this 
be breaking the commandment ? Yes. It is . 
just as bad to kill with poison, as to kill with 
a dagger. And killing slowly, is just as 
much a breach of this commandment, as kill- 
ing quickly. There are many people, in this 
country, who make, and sell, drinks of this 
kind. They call them wine, or brandy, or 
gin, or whisky. These are often made out of 
the most poisonous things that can be men- 
tioned. The people who make these liquors 
call them by wrong names. Then they sell them 
to people to drink. They do this when they 
know that they are poisonous. But they are 
willing to do it for the sake of money. Are 
not such persons guilty of killing in the sight 
of God ? Certainly. 

Suppose a man stands at his door, and 
thoughtlessly fires a pistol into a crowd that 
is passing by. One person in the crowd is 
killed. Is the man, who fired the pistol, 
guilty of his death ? Certainly. 

Suppose I am a king. I don't think my 



216 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



country is large enough. I want to have part 
of my neighbor's country. I raise an army, 
and march into that country. The king of 
that country "brings his army to oppose mine. 
A great battle is fought. Twenty thousand 
men are killed. Who killed those men ? I 
did, of course. Perhaps I never fired a single 
gun, or shed a single drop of blood, with my 
own hand ; yet every drop of blood shed, in 
that battle, would rest on my head. Remem- 
ber this when you read about what are called 
great heroes, and conquerors. 

Look at Napoleon Bonaparte ! He resolved 
to invade Russia. There was no necessity for 
it. But he resolved to do it, to please himself. 
He raised a great army of near 500,000 men. 
He marched to Moscow. He took it. The 
Russians set fire to it. It was burnt down. 
Winter set in. Napoleon was defeated, and 
driven back. This grand army was destroyed. 
More than half a million of men were killed in 
that one campaign. Who killed them ? Napo- 
leon Bonaparte. What a grand murderer he 
was ! Think of this, when you hear, or read, of 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 217 



what is called, — his glory ! Would you like to 
be in Napoleon's place, when he comes to stand 
before the judgment-seat ? No, no ; not for 
ten thousand such kingdoms as France. 

This commandment forbids all actions that 
would injure the lives of others. 

But, at the same time, it forbids all feelings 
that would injure the lives of others. 

Suppose you wanted to prevent any more 
oak trees from growing, what would be the 
best way of doing it ? To destroy all the 
acorns. Suppose it should be found out that 
chickens were a great nuisance ; that they gave 
rise to a dangerous disease ; and that it be-« 
came necessary to prevent them from increas- 
ing ; what would be the most effectual way of 
doing it ? To break all the eggs that were 
laid. Yes, do this, and the chickens would 
soon disappear. Now, just what acorns are 
to oaks ; — or, what eggs are to chickens, — 
feelings are to actions. They are the seed, the 
eggs, out of which actions spring. Control 
the acorns, and you control the oaks. Con- 
trol the eggs, and you control the chickens. 
19 



218 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Control the feelings, and yon control the 
actions. 

This is just what God's law does. It comes 
into our hearts, and teaches us to control 
their feelings. It tells us, — that " He who 
hateth his brother is a murderer." — 1 John, 
iii. 15. 

Who was the first murderer, of whom we read 
in the Bible ? Cain. Do you suppose he be- 
came a murderer all at once ? No ; he came 
to it by degrees ; just as the acorn grows 
into the oak. There was a day when Cain 
had the first feeling of hatred, or anger, to- 
.wards his brother. That feeling was the 
acorn, out of which the oak-tree of murder 
grew. If, when that feeling first sprung up in 
his heart, Cain had checked it, at once, that 
would have been like plucking up the acorn 
as soon as it began to sprout. Then no oak- 
tree would have grown from it. Cain never 
would have been a murderer. 

Now acorn-murder is just as bad, in the sight 
of God, and just as much a breaking of this com- 
mandment, as oak-tree murder. I mean by this 



CAIN AND ABEL. 



King's Highway. 



p. 218. 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



219 



that heart-murder is as sinful in God's sight as 
hand-murder. If we indulge angry and hateful 
feelings, in our hearts, towards a person, that 
makes us murderers, in God's sight. The rea- 
son is, that if we let these feelings stay there, 
and grow, they will soon make us real mur- 
derers. Ah ! my dear children, how many 
heart-murderers there are among us ! How 
many who have the guilt of murder on their 
souls, without having the blood of murder on 
their hands ! 

Now, suppose you should find out that, in 
one corner of the room, in which you sleep, 
there was a nest of young rattlesnakes ; and 
that at any time they might spring out of their 
nest, and bite you ; what would you do ? 
Search the room, find out the nest, and have 
the young snakes killed. That would be the 
only wise and safe course. But let me tell 
you, that in the corner of your heart there may 
be something worse than a nest of rattle- 
snakes. Is anger or hatred allowed to dwell 
there ? If so, that is worse than a rattlesnake. 
If you do not overcome it, it may spring up 



220 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



suddenly, sometime or other, and make you a 
murderer in a moment. 

I remember, when I was a boy at school, a 
case of this kind occurred. One of the schol- 
ars, whose name was James, had a terrible 
temper. The least thing, that displeased him, 
would throw him into a rage, and then he 
would act in the most violent manner. He 
never seemed to feel how dreadfully wicked 
it was ; or to be afraid of the consequences 
that might follow from it. 

One day, during recess, he stretched himself 
on a bench, to take a nap. One of the boys 
thought he would have a little fun, with James. 
He took a feather, and leaned over the bench, 
and began to tickle him, in the ear. James 
shook his head, and cried • — " Quit that." Pres- 
ently he felt the feather again ; — " You quit 
that, I say," he exclaimed, very angrily. The 
boy very thoughtlessly went on with his mis- 
chief. Then James sprung from the bench, 
seized a pair of compasses, lying on the desk 
near him, and threw them at the boy with all 
his might. They struck him on the side of the 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 221 

head. They entered his brain. He fell down ; 
never spoke again ; and was carried home a 
corpse. How dreadful this was ! Here was 
the young serpent that had been allowed to 
nestle in this boy's heart, springing up sud- 
denly to its full growth, and making a mur- 
derer of him. Oh ! watch against these young 
serpents ! And if you find them in your heart, 
take that heart to Jesus, and ask Him to give 
you His grace to resist and overcome them. 

Thus we have seen what the commandment 
forbids, in reference to others. It forbids all 
actions and feelings that may injure their lives. 

But the commandment also forbids injury 

TO OUR OWN LIVES. 

Almost every day we hear, or read, about 
some people killing themselves. Sometimes 
they do it by jumping into the river, and 
drowning themselves. Sometimes they do it 
by hanging, or by shooting, or by taking poi- 
son. This is called " committing suicide," 
or, killing one's self. Now, I need hardly 
tell you that this is breaking the sixth com- 
mandment. Every body knows this. I think 
19* 



222 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



there is not much danger of any of you break- 
ing the commandment in this ivay. Very few 
persons, who have been taught in Sunday- 
school, and who know what God's command- 
ments are, are ever found breaking the sixth 
commandment in this way. 

But there are other ways in which we may 
break this commandment, by injuring our own 
lives, besides blowing out our brains ; or 
jumping into the river ; or taking a dose of 
arsenic. And in these ways a great many 
people break the sixth commandment, without 
thinking what thay are doing. 

I might speak of a number of these ways : 
but I will only speak of three. One of these 
is connected with eating : another with drink- 
ing : and another with dressing. There is a 
great deal of killing done in each of these 
ways. 

But perhaps some of you will be ready to 
say ;— 

" Dear me, it's very strange to talk about 
people's killing themselves by eating. Why, 
it's pretty sure that they '11 kill themselves if 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 223 

they do7iH eat." That's true enough. And 
yet, many people kill themselves by what they 
eat : and by the way in which they eat. 

When we are young, we do not know what 
is safe and proper for us to eat, till we are 
taught. God has made the young of other 
creatures very different, in this respect, from the 
young of our race. Here is a young chicken, 
just hatched. It runs about, at once, looking for 
something to eat. It is not necessary for the old 
hen to give it a list of articles which it mustn't 
eat. If the young chick finds a nice crumb of 
bread, or a dead fly, or a fat little worm, it 
doesn't run to its mother, and say ; — " Mother, 
will it hurt me to eat this ? " No ; but it 
snaps it up in a minute, and then looks out 
for another. 

But when we are children, we don't know 
what is good for us to eat. We need to 
be taught ; and we must mind what is taught 
us, about eating, or else we shall make our- 
selves sick, and perhaps kill ourselves. I 
suppose there is never a summer that passes 
by, but what more or less children kill them- 



224 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



selves by eating green apples, and unripe fruit 
of different kinds. They are told not to 
eat these things ; but they forget what has 
been told them, or else they don't mind it. 
They like the taste of the fruit ; they go on eat- 
ing it ; they get sick ; they die. Does God 
kill those children ? No. They kill themselves. 

Did you ever hear the fable of the " Con- 
ceited Fly " ? There was an old fly, once, 
that lived in a sugar refinery. She was a wise 
and prudent fly. When the great boiler was 
in operation, and clouds of sweet-smelling 
steam were rising from it, she had noticed 
that a great many of her friends and neigh- 
bors were drawn towards it. But she saw 
that when they got near to it, they suddenly 
disappeared, and never came back again. She 
didn't understand what it was that killed 
them, but she knew it was dangerous, and she 
kept away from it. 

She had a daughter who was very conceited, 
as young people are apt to be. The old fly 
never went from home, without cautioning her 
young one not to go near the boiler. 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



225 



One day, when the old fly was away, the 
young one went out to take a little turn round, 
and stretch her wings. The boiler was going. 
The steam from the boiling juice was rising 
in clouds. Its sweet smell was very pleasant, 
and attractive. She said to herself ; — " How 
silly it is, of my mother, to be so much afraid 
of that steam. I'm sure it smells too nice to 
do one any harm. I'll just go and taste a lit- 
tle of it, and get back before mother comes 
home." 

She flew towards the boiler ; the hot, scald- 
ing steam struck her before she knew what 
she was doing, and down she tumbled into the 
boiler. 

How many a child has acted over the part 
of the conceited fly, and has found out, when 
it was too late, the folly of such a course ! 

We break this commandment when we eat 
what we are told is not good for us. Arid 
grown people break it. too, by eating what 
they have found out disagrees with them. 
Whatever we find that makes us sick, or dis- 
agrees with us, we should regard as poison. 



226 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



If we go on eating those things, we break this 
commandment by doing so. 

But we may break this commandment, also, 
by the toay in ivhich we eat, as well as by what 
we eat. By eating too fast, we may injure 
ourselves. 

You know the food that we eat is received 
into the stomach. There it is mixed with juices, 
and, by a sort of churning motion, it is turned 
into a white, pulpy substance, something like 
thickened milk. This is turned into blood, and 
the blood is sent all over our bodies, to keep 
the bones, and flesh, and skin in good condi- 
tion. 

But, in order to get the food we eat into a 
proper state to be received into the stomach, 
God has given us two rows of teeth. These 
are like little millstones. They are intended 
to grind up our food, into very fine pieces, be- 
fore we swallow it, and send it down to the 
.stomach. Our food is not fit to go into the 
stomach, until it is well ground, and made 
quite fine. But when we are in a hurry . and 
eat our meals fast, we don't take time enough 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 227 

to grind up our food, or to chew it well. We 
swallow it in lumps, and send it down to the 
stomach, in pieces so large, that it can't be 
churned up into the white, pulpy substance, 
out of which the blood is made. The stomach 
has a world of trouble with these large, un- 
ground pieces of food. It doesn't know what 
to do with them. And pain, and sickness, 
and suffering, and, sometimes, even death, are 
occasioned, by not giving the teeth time to 
do their duty, when we eat. Well, then, 
when you sit down to eat your meals, remem- 
ber the sixth commandment : — " Thou shalt 
not kill." Recollect, that you break this com- 
mandment, when you eat too fast* 

We break it also, when we eat too much. 

If you put too much cargo in a vessel, what 
will become of it ? It will sink. If you put 
too heavy a burden on a horse, a mule, or 
camel, what will it do ? Fall down, and wait 
till you take some of it off. 

Now, when we eat too much, we overload 
the stomach. It can't do its work properly. 
The food we eat, lies like lead on the stomach, 



228 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



and great pain and suffering follow. In this 
way, dyspepsia, rush of blood to the head, 
and many troublesome diseases, are caused. 
Hundreds of persons kill themselves, every 
year, by eating too much. This is breaking 
the sixth commandment. 

Perhaps some of you are ready to ask ; — 
How may we know when we eat too much ? 
When we eat just as much as we can, we eat 
too much. We should always stop while feel- 
ing as if we could take a little more. Re- 
member, we may break the sixth command- 
ment by eating too much. 

But drinking is another way in which peo- 
ple may kill themselves. 

Most of the wines and liquors made, or sold, 
in this country, have poisonous substances 
mixed up with them. It is estimated that 
about 30,000 people kill themselves with drink- 
ing liquors, in this country, every year. 

This church will seat over a thousand people. 
Only think of as many people as would fill 
this church full thirty times, being killed, in 
one year, by drinking ! This is dreadful to 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



229 



think of ! Surely, we should all try to put a 
stop to this terrible slaughter ! Every one, 
who is in the habit of drinking liquor, is help- 
ing to encourage thousands to break this com- 
mand. And those who indulge freely in drink- 
ing, often kill others as well as themselves. 

A young man and his wife were going to 
attend a Christmas party, at the house of a 
friend, some miles distant. " Henry, my dear 
husband," said the wife, " won't you promise 
me not to drink too much at the party to-day ?" 

" Yes, Millie, I'll promise not to do it. You 
may trust me." 

Then he wrapped the baby-boy in a nice soft 
blanket, and they started. The horses were 
soon prancing over the road, and the husband 
and wife talked pleasantly together, as they 
rode on. 

" Now, don't forget your promise," whis- 
pered his wife, as they entered the house. 
Poor thing ! she little knew the anguish that 
was before her. 

The party passed off pleasantly. The time 
for returning came. The wife went down 
20 



230 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



from the upper chamber to join her husband. 
The moment her eye rested on him, her heart 
sank. She saw he had forgotten his prom- 
ise. He was intoxicated. They rode home in 
silence. The poor mother pressed her babe 
closely to her grieved, and sorrowing heart. 
Presently they came to a dark, and swollen 
stream which they had to cross. As they came 
near to the stream, he said — " Millie, give me 
the baby to hold, till we cross the creek. I 
can't trust him with you." 

She hesitated. He spoke again in angry 
tones. Then she resigned her darling babe, 
closely wrapped in the great blanket, to his 
arms. Their noble horse bore them safely 
over the dark waters, and when they reached 
the opposite bank of the stream, the mother 
asked for the child. He placed the bundle 
carefully in her arms ; she clasped it to her 
bosom, and uttered a piercing shriek ! No 
babe was there ! It had slipped from the 
blanket, and the drunken father knew it not. 
The loud shriek of his wife aroused him. He 
turned just in time to see the little rosy face 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 231 

rise one moment above the dark waters, and 
then sink forever ! Who can imagine the ter- 
rible feelings of that father's heart ? to say 
nothing of the mother's grief. By drinking, 
that miserable father had killed his own, his 
only darling child ! Oh ! boys, remember the 
sixth commandment when you are tempted to 
drink ! And girls, beware of forming a con- 
nection for life with one who is in the habit 
of drinking. 

But, then, there is another thing that we 
spoke of, as leading people to break this com- 
mandment ; — it is dressing. Multitudes of 
people are killed by the way in which they 
dress themselves. 

Wearing thin shoes is one of these ways. How 
many females, especially, you see, walking the 
streets in shoes scarcely thicker than brown 
paper. In these they will go over the pavements 
that are being deluged with water ; or, even in 
the winter -time, when melting snow covers them. 
These paper-like shoes afford no protection to 
the feet. The feet get wet ; then a bad cold 
is taken ; then consumption follows ; and death 



232 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



ensues. Hundreds of persons die, every year, 
in this way. Is it right to say that God has 
taken them out of the world ? Not at all. 
They take themselves out. They are just as 
much guilty of suicide, as if they had taken 
poison, or hung themselves up by a rope. The 
sixth commandment is often broken over a thin 
pair of shoes. 

But tight-lacing is another way in which 
people kill themselves. Some persons think 
that the smaller they can make their waists 
look, the more beautiful they appear. Now, 
if you consider the body of a wasp as the 
proper model of beauty, for the human body, 
then this would be true. But this is not so. 
This practice is very wicked, because it is very 
injurious. Just look, for a moment, at that 
part of the body to which this lacing is ap- 
plied. 

Right in the centre is the heart. Near the 
heart is the liver, and the lower part of the 
lungs. The heart, you know, is the most im- 
portant part of our whole body. It is about 
as large as a man's fist. Its shape is some- 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 233 

thing like a large pear. It is divided into 
two parts. The work which the heart has to 
do, is, to act the part of a pump. God has 
given it a wonderful power of opening, and 
closing itself. Its "business is to send the blood 
all over our bodies, by a sort of pumping 
motion. If you put your two fists, one over 
the other, and open, and shut them, you will 
get an idea of the way in which the heart does 
its pumping. When it opens, it lets the blood 
in. When it closes, it forces it out. This 
opening and closing is what we call the beat- 
ing of the heart. You can feel it when you 
place your hand on your left side. You can 
even hear it at night, when all is still. 

Close by the heart is the lower part of the 
lungs. The lungs are like a pair of bellows. 
Every time we breathe, they are filled up with 
air, and swell themselves out all around. Now, 
the heart must have room to open and shut. 
And the lungs must have room to be filled 
with air. To give them room, and keep any- 
thing from pressing against them, God has 
built around them a bone-fence. We call it 
20* 



234 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



the ribs. These are pieces of bone, bent like 
hoops, and fastened into the back bone of our 
body. But they are fastened by a sort of 
gum-elastic hinge, or band, that can stretch, 
and shrink, just as may be necessary. Hence, 
when you draw a long breath, your lungs fill 
up, and your ribs swell out. When you breathe 
out that air, every thing falls back again to 
its former position. In the lower part of the 
waist, these ribs do not meet in front. There 
is a space between them, so that they can rise, 
and fall, as the breathing goes on. But when 
the waist is tightly laced, these ribs are pressed 
in upon the heart and lungs ; and neither of 
them has room to do its work properly. They 
are crowded, and cramped, and don't know 
how to get on. If they could only speak for 
themselves, what a terrible outcry they would 
make. Then, when one of these tight-laced 
ladies was sailing smoothly up or down the 
street, her poor suffering heart and lungs 
would be screaming dreadfully, and muffled 
cries of " murder," — murder," — would be heard, 
sounding out from her bosom. 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 235 

One of the best physicians in the city told 
me, the other day, that two-thirds of all the 
deaths among females, are caused by thin shoes, 
and tight-lacing. 

But then there is another thing connected 
with dressing, which leads to the breaking of 
this commandment ; I mean, wearing low-necked 
dresses. 

You know, in old times, when soldiers used 
to wear armor, if a man went into battle with 
Ms helmet or his breast-plate off, his enemies 
would be sure to aim an arrow at the part 
that was left uncovered, and so wound or kill 
him. Now, this life is like a battle-field. The 
enemies we have to fight against are diseases, 
of different kinds. The armor we have for 
our bodies is proper clothing. If we leave the 
clothing off certain parts of our body, which 
ought to be kept covered, some of these enemies 
will attack us in those very parts, and do us a 
great deal of harm. Colds, and consumptions, 
are among these enemies. The arrows they 
shoot with are drafts of cold air. Two of 
the most tender and delicate parts of our body, 



236 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



arid the most dangerous to leave uncovered, are 
the back of the neck, or between the shoulders, 
and under the arm. Let a blast of cold air 
strike you, in either of these places, when left 
uncovered, and you might almost as well have 
a sharp-pointed steel arrow, or a loaded pistol, 
shot at you. Yet these are the very parts, 
which those miserable, low-necked dresses leave 
uncovered. When I see little children, and 
young ladies, and even married ladies, too, 
sometimes, wearing these sort of dresses, it 
makes me shudder. It brings up to my mind 
the thought of a hacking cough, a sick-cham- 
ber, and an early grave. Thousands of per- 
sons kill themselves in this way. And in this 
way the sixth commandment is broken, by 
many who never think what they are doing. 

But there is something else to be said about 
these low-necked dresses, when they are worn 
by grown-up young ladies. You know the 
seventh commandment says, " Thou shalt not 
commit adultery." Among other things for- 
bidden by this commandment, is the doing 
anything that is indelicate, or immodest. Now, 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 237 



these low-necked dresses are in the highest 
degree immodest. I never can cease wonder- 
ing how any virtuous, and pure-minded female 
can allow herself to wear one of them, in the 
presence of a large company of people. Those 
who wear these dresses break two command- 
ments at once. They break the sixth com- 
mandment over the back of their neck ; and 
they break the seventh commandment over the 
front of it. Many persons have worn these 
dresses, without thinking about the two-fold 
evil connected with them. But if any lady 
will go on wearing them, after these evils have 
been plainly pointed out, I, for one, should 
have a very poor opinion of such a lady. 

Thus, my dear young friends, I have tried 
to answer the one question started at the be- 
ginning of this sermon. That question is ; — 
What does this commandment forbid? It 
forbids injury to the lives of others, and injury 
to our own lives. 

We may injure the lives of others by our 
actions and by our feelings. 

We may injure our own lives, by drowning, 



238 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



shooting, hanging, or poisoning. But, in addi- 
tion to this, we may do it by certain things 
connected with eating, drinking, and dressing. 
In connection with eating, we spoke of eating 
wrong things; — eating too fast; — and eating 
too much. In connection with dressing, we 
spoke of thin shoes ; tight-lacing ; and low- 
necked dresses. 

I intended to have had another question in 
this sermon. That question was ; — Why does 
this commandment forbid killing ? Then I 
should have tried to show you that it forbids 
killing ; — because life is so valuable ; because, 
when once taken away, we cannot restore it ; 
and because of the punishment God has threat- 
ened to inflict on those who take it away. 
But it would have required another sermon 
to consider these reasons properly. We must 
let them go, therefore. 

Before closing, however, I must say a word 
or two about this commandment. I suppose 
there is not one person here, however young, 
who has not broken it. I don't mean to say 
that we have all been murderers outright. 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 239 

But we have all had angry feelings towards 
others, and this has made ns murderers in 
heart. We have all reason, therefore, to re- 
pent, before God, for the sin we have com- 
mitted in this respect. We should all pray 
earnestly for pardon for the past, and for 
grace to help us to do better for the future. 

We may all learn a lesson on this subject 
from a little girl, of whom I was reading 
lately. Her name was Alice. One evening 
her mother had company, and her older sister, 
Sarah, took her up stairs, to put her to bed. 

As Sarah was undressing Alice, she noticed 
that she seemed very sad, and that tears were 
running down her cheeks. She asked her what 
was the matter ; but Alice gave her no answer. 
" Tell me, child, what ails you," said Sarah. 
Still Alice said nothing ; only she sighed, and 
seemed greatly troubled. When it was time 
to kneel down by her little bed and pray, 
Alice knelt, and bowed her head ; but no 
words came from her lips. Sarah thought 
this was very strange. Then Alice arose, and 
crept into her bed, so silent, so sad, so tearful, 



240 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



that Sarah was frightened. She went down 
stairs and joined the company. There she 
seized the first opportunity of mentioning it to 
her mother. 

" I will run up, directly/ 7 said she, " and see 
what ails the child." 

" She is not sick, mother," said her sister, 
" only it seems as if something were troubling 
her mind." 

Presently the mother escaped from the par- 
lor, and went up to the chamber of her little 
one. She trod very softly, lest Alice might 
have fallen asleep ; but as she drew near she 
heard low sobs and cries. 

" My child," said her mother, tenderly, stoop- 
ing down to her bedside, " what troubles you? 
Tell me." 

" Oh ! mother, I am so glad you have come," 
cried Alice, uncovering her head, and seizing 
her mother's hand : " I can't say my prayers, 
and I can't go to sleep." 

" Do tell me what's the matter with my dear 
daughter." 

" Oh ! mother, I killed cousin Ruth in my 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 241 

heart to-day, I did •" and the tears flowed 
afresh. " She got angry, and I wished her 
dead. That makes me a murderer. I can't 
ask God's forgiveness till I've made up with 
Ruth. He won't hear me, for my heart has 
had anger and hatred in it, and not love. 
Oh ! mother !" and the poor child wept as 
though her heart would break. 

Her mother tried to comfort her, but there 
lay the cold, heavy weight of sin upon her 
bosom, and she could take no comfort. 

" Oh ! if I could only see Ruth, and we 
could make up ; then I could pray, and go to 
sleep," she said, piteously. 

" Mother, can't I go to Ruth's house ?" 

Her mother thought a moment. She felt 
that to help her child to think and feel rightly 
on this subject was the most important of all 
things. £; Yes, my child, you shall go," she 
said. 

Ah ! if she had been one of those mothers 
who always send their children to bed in 
charge of servants, what a golden opportunity 
she would have lost of doing her child good ! 
21 



242 the king's highway. 

Alice's father was called, who, wrapping his 
weeping child in a blanket, carried her into 
the next door house, where her cousin Ruth 
lived. She was taken to Ruth's bedside. It 
was a melting scene, to witness the confession, 
the prayer for forgiveness, and the kiss of 
reconciliation. Then Alice wiped away her 
tears ; and, laying her head on her father's 
shoulder, she asked to be carried home. 

Once more in her own chamber, Alice kneeled 
down and prayed God to forgive her for the sin 
of hating Ruth. " Give me love in my heart," 
she cried, earnestly, " because 1 God is love 
and because it was love which made Jesus die 
on the cross for us ; and, oh ! keep me from 
hating and killing any body in my heart." 

So did little Alice pray. Oh ! what a prayer 
was that ! Sin, and conscience, love, and 
hatred, had been fighting in her heart. But 
love gained the victory. Can we not remem- 
ber feeling towards somebody just as Alice 
felt towards Ruth ? Let us learn from the 
example of Alice what to do. We should ask 
the forgiveness of those towards whom we 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



243 



have felt anger or hatred. Then we should 
ask God's forgiveness, and pray for His grace 
to take away all these wicked feelings from 
our hearts, and fill them with love. It is love 
to God, and love to our fellow-creatures, which 
makes us the children of God ; and it is hatred, 
and anger, and strife, which make us the chil- 
dren of the devil. Let us remember the words 
of the hymn : 

" Whene'er the angry passions rise, 

And tempt our thoughts and tongues to strife, 
To Jesus let us lift our eyes, 

Bright pattern of the Christian life. 

" His fair example let us trace, 

To teach us what we ought to be ; 
Make us, by Thy transforming grace, 
Dear Saviour, daily more like Thee 1" 



244 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



HYMN ON THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

Our hands may not be red with blood, 

Yet we may murderers be ; 
For every causeless, angry thought 

Is murder, Lord, with Thee ! 

Chorus. 

Oh I then to Christ, the Living Stream, 

We'll come without delay ; 
And in the Fountain of His Blood, 

Wash all our guilt away. 

There's many a deed of murder done, 
Where blood has ne'er been spilt ; 

For angry thoughts and words are one 
With deeds of crimson guilt. 

Chorus. 

Yes ! in our hearts we often kill, 
And think the deed unknown ; 

Forgetting that each secret thought 
Is spoken at Thy throne. 

Chorus. 

Great God ! we can not fully tell 

How such a thing can be ; 
We only feel how much of sin 

Within us Thou must see I 

Chorus. 



VIII. 

®|t S^«t| Cffmnuttirnuttt. 

" Thou shalt not commit adultery." — Exodus xx. 19. 

HAVE not written a sermon on this com- 
mandment, because it is not so much 
adapted for children, as for older per- 
sons. Many things that it refers to can 
only be understood by grown-up people. 
The seventh commandment is intended 
to preserve us from all impurity of heart and 
life. It requires us to be modest, and virtuous 
in all our thoughts and feelings, as well as in 
our actions, and our dress. It forbids the use 
of any indecent language ; the reading of 
books, or looking at pictures, that contain any- 
thing immoral, or impure. It would lead us 
all to seek and maintain — 

"A heart in every thought renewed, 
And full of love divine ; 
Perfect, and right, and pure, and good, 
A copy, Lord, of Thine." 

21* (245) 





" Thou shalt not steal." — Exodus xx. 15. 

We read in ancient history of a king, who, 
when he published his laws, had them written 
on plates of brass, but set up on pillars so 
high that the people could not read them. 
Still, if they did not keep the laws he made, 
he said he would punish them. This was very 
unreasonable. It was very wicked. How 
differently from this God acted in publishing 
His laws ! He first came down upon the top 
of Mount Sinai, and spoke the words of His 
laws in a voice like thunder. All the people 
around the mountain heard distinctly every 
word He said. Then He wrote His laws on 
tables of stone, that wouldn't wear out, so that 
the people might always have a copy of them 
near at hand, and read, and understand them. 
And now, we have these laws printed in our 

(246) 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 247 

Bibles. And these Bibles we have always near 
us. They are in our churches, in our schools, 
and in our homes, so that we can turn to them 
at any time, and find out just what God wants 
us to do, or not to do. 

God's laws are tiot only easy to get at, but 
they are very plain, when we do get at them. 
They are very short ; and very simple. When 
we read the laws that men make, they are 
wrapt up in so many words, and some of them 
are such strange words, that it is very hard, 
oftentimes, to find out the meaning of them. 
What could be shorter, or more simple, than 
this eighth commandment, which contains 
God's great law against stealing ? 

"Thou shalt not steal." 

Four little words make it up. There is not 
a single unnecessary letter in it. It is so plain 
that anybody can understand it. I suppose 
the youngest scholar in an infant school can 
tell what it means. 

In speaking about this commandment, the 
chief thing to be considered is, the different 
ways in which it may be broken. 



248 



the king's highway. 



You know it often happens, when you are 
going along a road, that you find it dividing 
itself into two or more roads. These are 
called branches, or forks, of the road. The 
road, or way we are considering now, that is, 
the way of breaking the eighth commandment, 
divides itself into five forks, or branches. 
These represent five different ways in which 
this commandment may be broken ; or five 
different ways of stealing. 

Suppose we call these forks by the first five 
letters of the alphabet. Then we shall have 
fork A, fork B, fork C, fork D, and fork E. 

Fork A — is the way of stealing by forget- 

FULNESS. 

Somebody said once, that "man is a bun- 
dle of habits." This is true. Some of these 
habits are good habits, but a great many 
more are bad ones. Among these bad habits, 
none is so common as a bad memory. This is 
the habit of forgetting things. People with 
these bad memories borrow things from their 
neighbors and friends, and forget to return 
them. Now to the persons who lend those 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 249 

things, it is just as bad as if a thief should 
come into their house and steal them. Um- 
brellas, and books, and things of that kind, are 
most likely to suffer in this way. Let me 
show you how it happens. 

Here is Mr. John Smith. He breaks the 
commandment by going through fork A. For 
instance, John Smith is going to his store one 
day, when he is overtaken by a shower of rain. 
He stops under an awning at first ; but the 
rain pours on. Presently, he says to himself, 
" What shall I do ? I can't stay here all day • 
and yet I don't want to get wet through. Ah ! 
I see, there is my friend Johnson's ; I'll just 
step in there, and borrow an umbrella." He 
gets the umbrella, promising to see it safely 
returned. He carries it home, puts it on the 
hat-stand in the entry, or in the closet under 
the stairs, and forgets all about it. There is 
no mark upon the umbrella to show whose it 
is. It is never returned ; and so Mr. Johnson 
loses his umbrella. Isn't it all the same to 
.him as if his umbrella had been stolen? Cer- 
tainly. Mr. John Smith would be offended if 



250 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



any one should call him a thief. Yet practi- 
cally he is just as bad. Perhaps you are ready 
to say, " Ah ! but he didn't intend to steal ; he 
only forgot. He merely had a bad memory." 
Yes, but then he should not forget. He has 
no business to have a bad memory. He could 
help this if he chose. Do you suppose he ever 
forgets when breakfast, or dinner-time comes ? 
Do you think he has a bad memory when other 
people borrow umbrellas from him ? Oh ! no. 
His memory is excellent then. This shows 
that people can control their memory if they 
want to do so. Memory is a thing of habit. 
We can get into the habit of forgetting things, 
if we are not careful ; and we can get out of 
it, if we try properly. If we neglect to try, 
then we shall break this commandment by go- 
ing through the fork A, which is the way of 
forgetfulness. 

Take another case. Here are two boys, 
James and Robert. They both go a good 
deal through this fork A. They both have 
bad memories. James is spending an evening 
with Robert. Robert shows him his Christmas 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 251 

presents. Among these is a beautiful set of 
Abbot's historical works. The last of the se- 
ries James has never read. He asks the loan 
of it, promising to take great care of it, and 
return it the next time he comes to see Robert. 
The book is lent ; but Robert forgets to put 
down, on a piece of paper, the name of the 
book, and of the person who borrows it. 
Everybody should do this tuJio lends hooks. 
James takes the book home ; reads it about 
half through ; gets tired of it ; puts it away 
on one of the upper shelves of the bookcase, 
and forgets to return it. The book never gets 
back to its owner. Robert finds, after awhile, 
that one book is missing out of his set of Ab- 
bot's works ; — but he can't remember who bor- 
rowed it. 

Borrowing is just as bad as stealing, in 
such cases. I have had a good-sized library 
of books stolen from me in this way. What 
a good thing it would be if all the people 
who travel over this fork A, would, every 
once in awhile, overhaul their hat-stands, and 
closets, and book-shelves, to find out what 



252 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



things they have there which do not belong to 
them, and return these to their proper owners. 
I should have to put up some new shelves in 
my library, if I could only get all my lost 
books back again. The fork A, or f or getf ill- 
ness, is one branch of the way in which the 
eighth commandment is broken. 

Fore B — or cunning, is another branch of 

it. 

Did you ever see a counterfeit bank note ? 
This is a note which somebody has made to 
look so much like a good note, that most peo- 
ple are not able to tell the difference. It 
passes for a good note, though it is not worth 
a straw. And gold and silver coin are coun* 
terfeited in the same manner. The people 
who make them think themselves very cunning. 
But they are not a bit better than thieves. 

Counterfeiting is a great sin. When those 
who are guilty of it are caught, in this coun- 
try, they are put in prison. In England, the 
law is more severe than with us. There, coun- 
terfeiters formerly used to be hung ; but now, 
they are transported to Botany Bay, when 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 253 

caught, and proved guilty. And those who 
pass counterfeit money, if they know it, are 
just as bad as those who make it. Sometimes 
you hear people say, " Well, we took it for 
good money, and therefore we have a right to 
pass it again." But this is not true. If they 
take it for good money, and pass it away 
again before they discover that it is bad, then, 
of course, they are not to blame. But if they 
find out that it is bad, then they cannot at- 
tempt to pass it without breaking the eighth 
commandment. 

But, a great many other things may be coun- 
terfeited, as well as money. You have all 
heard of the Yankee pedlar, who made wood- 
en nutmegs, and sold them for real ones. This 
was counterfeiting ; it was stealing, or break- 
ing the eighth commandment by cunning. And 
this is true of every way in which people get 
up an imitation of something that is real, and 
valuable, and sell it for the real thing. 

You know how men who deal in horses, will 
take a horse that is diseased, and good for 
nothing, and manage to hide his faults, or the 



254 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



symptoms of his disease, and then sell him for a 
good horse. In a day or two, the purchaser 
finds that he is of no use. So jewelry, and 
such like things, are made of brass, and sold 
for gold. So medicines are sold, as warranted 
to cure certain diseases, when those who make 
them know they have no more power to cure 
such diseases than so much water ; and per- 
haps not half as much. All these are only so 
many different ways of stealing, or breaking 
the eighth commandment. And there are 
scores of such ways, in which people are said 
to live by their wits. 

This fork B takes in all the various tricks, 
and contrivances by which cunning men man- 
age to get money out of people, without giving 
them anything really valuable in return. They 
may get rich in this way, and think themselves 
very smart, and pride themselves for their cun- 
ning ; — but they are no better than thieves, 
and robbers, after all. When God shall come 
to reckon with them at last, they will find that 
the real name, for what they called smartness, 
was stealing. This is the name by which God 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 255 



calls it. Oh ! there are great multitudes of 
people found breaking the eighth command- 
ment along this fork B. 

Very many of the shows, and exhibitions ; 
the pretended inventions, and discoveries, of 
which we hear so much, in our large cities, be- 
long to this branch of our subject. This fork 
B is the place for them. It takes in all who 
try to get money by anything that may prop- 
erly be called a humbug, instead of by honest 
labor. 

We pass on now to fork C. Here toe find 
all those who break the eighth commandment by 

DECEIT. 

Sometimes this deceit leads people to keep 
back money that belongs to others, when they 
think it won't be discovered. 

A very good story in illustration of this, is 
told of the Duke of Buccleuch, a Scotch noble- 
man. One clay the duke had bought a cow 
in the neighborhood of Dalkeith, where he 
lived. The cow was to be sent home the next 
morning. Early in the morning, the duke was 
taking a walk, in a very common dress. As he 



256 



THE KINGS HIGHWAY. 



went along, he saw a boy trying, in vain, to 
drive the cow to his residence. The cow was 
very unruly, and the poor boy couldn't get on 
with her at all. The boy, not knowing the 
duke, bawled out to him, in the broad Scotch 
accent : " Hie, mun, come here and gie's a han' 
wi' this beast." The duke walked slowly on, 
not seeming to notice the boy, who still kept 
calling for his help. At last, finding he 
couldn't get on with the cow, he cried out 
in distress, " Come here, mun, and help us, 
and as sure as anything I gie ye half I get." 

The duke went, and lent a helping hand. 

" And now," said the duke, as they trudged 
along after the cow, " how much do ye think 
ye'll get for the job ? " "I dinna ken," said 
the boy, " but I'm sure o' something, for the 
folks up at the big house are gude to a' 
bodies." 

As they came to a lane, near the house, the 
duke slipped away from the boy, and entered 
by a different way. Calling a servant, he put 
a sovereign into his hand, saying, " Give that 
to the boy who brought the cow." 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



257 



He then returned to the end of the lane 
where he had parted from the boy, so as to 
meet him on his way "back. "Well, how much 
did you get ?" asked the duke. " A shilling," 
said the boy, " and there's half o' it to ye." 
"But surely you got more than a shilling," 
said the duke. " No," said the boy ; " as sure 
as death that's a' I got ; — and d'ye no think 
it's plenty ?" " I do not," said the duke ; 
" there must be some mistake ; and as I am 
acquainted with the duke, if you return I think 
I'll get you more." 

They went back. The duke rang the bell, 
and ordered all the servants to be assembled. 
" Now," said the duke to the boy, " point me 
out the person who gave you the shilling." 
" It was that chap there, with the apron," said 
he, pointing to the butler. The butler fell on 
his knees, confessed his fault, and begged to be 
forgiven ; but the duke indignantly ordered 
him to give the boy the sovereign, and quit his 
service immediately. " You have lost," said 
the duke, " your money, your situation, and 
your character, by your deceitfulness ; learn, 
22* 



258 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



for the future, that honesty is the best policy." 
The boy now found out who it was that had 
helped him to drive the cow ; and the duke 
was so pleased with the manliness, and honesty 
of the boy that he sent him to school, and pro- 
vided for him at his own expense. 

This butler was in fork C. He broke the 
commandment by deceit, and trying to keep 
back from another what belonged to him, 
when he thought he would not be found out. 

Merchants, and storekeepers are very much 
tempted to go through fork C, by representing 
their goods as better than they are ; or by not 
telling frankly the imperfections of the goods, 
when they know all about them. 

For instance, a lady goes into a store to buy 
a dress. She finds one of the color she wants. 
If she could be sure the colors would not fade, 
she would take it. She says to the storekeep- 
er, "Will these colors stand?" "Oh! yes, 
madam, they are the very best colors to wear. 
They will stand as long as the dress lasts." 
The lady buys the dress on this assurance, 
though all the while the storekeeper knows the 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



259 



colors will not stand at all. In this way he 
steals the lady's money. That man's place is 
in fork C. 

A gentleman from the country placed his 
son with a dry goods merchant, in Broadway, 
New York. For a time all went well. One 
day a lady came into the store to purchase a 
silk dress, and the young man waited on her. 
She liked the article. The price was agreed 
upon, and he began to unfold and measure off 
the goods. While he was doing this he dis- 
covered a flaw in the silk. The lady did not 
notice it. He might have sold it without say- 
ing any thing about it. Many a shopkeeper 
would have done so. But this young man was 
honest. He understood the meaning of the 
eighth commandment. He did not belong to 
fork C. He said to the lady, " Madam, I deem 
it my duty to tell you that this silk is imper- 
fect. I have just discovered a flaw in it." Of 
course the lady didn't take it. She left the 
store without buying any thing. 

The merchant saw what had taken place, 
and was very angry. He wrote at once to the 



260 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



father of the young man, asking him to come 
and take his son away ; " for," said he," he 
will never make a merchant." 

The father, who had great confidence in his 
son, was very much grieved, and hastened to 
the city to find out what was the matter. 
" What do you mean by saying my son will 
not make a merchant ?" he asked. 

" I mean, he has no tact," was the answer. 
" Only a day or two ago, he told a lady, who 
was buying a piece of silk, that the goods 
were damaged, and I lost the bargain. Now, 
sir, that is no way to do business. Purchasers 
must look out for themselves. If they don't 
see what is wrong about the goods, it would 
be foolishness for me to point it out." 

" And is that all the fault you have to find 
with my son ?" asked the father. 

" Yes, sir, he is very well in other respects." 

" Then I love my son better than ever, and 
I thank you for telling me of this matter ; but 
I wouldn't have him another day in your store 
for the world." 

Now I do not mean to imply that people 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 261 



who keep dry goods stores are more apt to do 
business in this way than any other people. I 
know many honorable men among them, who 
would rather never sell another piece of goods 
than do as this merchant wanted his young 
man to do. But you will find some people in 
every branch of business who are ready to act 
in just this way. They call it having business 
tact, or talent. G-od calls it stealing — break- 
ing the eighth commandment. If we could go 
along one of our business streets, and find out 
who, among the storekeepers, act as this New 
York merchant acted, I wonder how many 
signs there would be, on the corner of which 
might be written, — Fork C ! This class takes 
in all who break the eighth commandment by 
deceit. 

But noio we go a few steps further, and take 
a turn into fork D. In this branch of the tuay 
toe find those who break the commandment by 

EXTORTION. 

This word means wringing, or squeezing 
oat. 

All those people, are found in this fork, 



262 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



who are never willing to give a fair price for 
any thing. There is a very large class of this 
sort of people. If you go a shopping with 
them, you find them always trying to beat 
down the price of things. No matter whether 
the price is high or low, they want to get it a 
little lower. They do not consider whether the 
price asked for a thing is a fair, honest price, 
or not ; however low it may be, they are not 
satisfied unless it is put lower still. If an 
article, worth five dollars, is offered them for 
two dollars and a half, they will offer two dol- 
lars for it. 

Here is a lady, who is a housekeeper, be- 
longing to fork D. She wants some straw- 
berries. There is a poor girl going by with a 
basket full on her head. She stops the girl at 
the front door, and asks the price of her 
strawberries. " Twenty-five cents a quart, 
ma'am," says the girl. 

" I'll take six quarts, if you'll let me have 
them for twenty cents." 

" Indeed, ma'am, that'll take away all my 
profit." 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 263 



" Well, I won't give you a cent more." 

The big tears roll down the cheeks of the 
poor girl as she measures out the strawberries. 
She has a poor widowed mother, with a sick 
little baby brother, at home, who have nothing 
to depend on but what she makes by selling 
her berries. The thirty cents which the rich 
lady has wrung from her, — might I not say 
stolen from her ? — would have been, oh ! such a 
help and comfort to them ! And yet this lady 
will go out, by and by, and spend dollars by 
the dozen on herself, for things that she really 
does not need at all. This is cruel. It is 
mean. It is wicked. This is what the Bible 
calls, oppressing the poor, or " grinding the 
faces of the poor f and God threatens dread- 
ful things against those who do it. That lady 
little thinks that she is breaking the eighth 
commandment over the head and heart of that 
poor girl ; but she is ; and when God comes 
to reckon with her, she will find it out. 

Fork D, in big letters, ought to be written 
over her door. 

But people along this fork break the com- 



264 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



mandment by not giving those who work for 
them as much wages as they deserve ; and, by 
not paying them their wages when due. 

The labor of poor people is all they have in 
the world. It is their fortune. To take this 
away from them is the worst kind of stealing. 
What multitudes of women, in all our large 
cities, get their living by making shirts, vests, 
or pantaloons. And see what they get for 
their labor. 

From a printed list of prices paid to tailor 
esses for sewing, put into my hands by a friend, 
I find that for making men's thick, heavy sat- 
inet coats, they get seventy-five cents apiece. 
It must take a woman at least two days to 
make one of these. That gives her thirty- 
seven and a half cents for a whole day's labor ! 

For making thick cassimere pants, fall-trim- 
med, they get only thirty-seven and a half 
cents. A woman would have to work very 
hard to finish one of these in a day. 

For making summer pants they get from ten 
to fifteen cents a pair. No woman could make 
more than two pair a day. This would give 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 265 



her from twenty to thirty cents for a whole day's 
work ! 

In a recent report of the Union Benevolent 
Society, of this city, a visitor states that she 
visited a family, the mother of which was mak- 
ing fine shirts, all but the bosoms, for which 
she received one dollar a dozen ! I suppose it 
would be impossible for any woman to make 
more than one shirt a day, if she kept close at 
it, sewing hard from morning till night. This 
would give her eight cents and a half for a hard 
day's work ! These are simple facts. 

If this is not stealing, what is it ? It is the 
worst kind of stealing ; stealing the health 
and life of poor destitute women ! 

But perhaps some of you are ready to say, 
" Well, we are only children, mere boys and 
girls. We don't hire working men and wo- 
men ; and what is the use of talking to us 
about these things ?" 

Yes, I know many of you are but children, 
only boys and girls now. But do you always 
expect to be children ? Are you going to re- 
main boys and girls forever ? No. By and 
23 



266 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



by you will be men and women, fathers and 
mothers, masters and mistresses. Then you 
will have servants and working people to 
hire. And I am preaching to you about 
these commandments for the future, and not 
for the present. I want you to be better men 
and women, better fathers and mothers, better 
masters and mistresses, than those who have 
gone before you. 

Now think of the hundreds and thousands 
of poor women who are working early and 
late, using up their fingers, and eyes, and ener- 
gies, for such a miserable pittance as that just 
spoken of above ! How shameful it is ! They 
are actually digging their graves with their 
fingers, while others are getting rich by them. 
Well might one of England's poets write a 
song about it. It was called " The Song of 
the Shirt." It described a poor woman at her 
work, in this way ; — 

" With fingers weary and worn, 

With eyelids heavy and red, 
A woman sat in unwomanly rag 

Plying her needle and thread — 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



267 



Stitch — stitch — stitch ! 
In poverty, hunger, and dirt, 

And still with a voice of dolorous pitch, 
She sang the ' Song of the Shirt.' 

" Work — work — work ! 
Till the brain begins to swim ; 

Work — work — work ! 
Till the eyes are heavy and dim : 
Seam, and gusset, and band, 

Band, and gusset, and seam, 
Till over the buttons I fall asleep, 

And sew them on in a dream ! 

" Work — work — work ! 

My labor never flags ; 
And what are its wages ? A bed of straw, 

A crust of bread — and rags. 
That shatter' d roof — and this naked floor — 

A table — a broken chair — 
And a wall so blank, my shadow I thank 

For sometimes falling there ! 

" Work — work — work ! 
From weary chime to chime ; 

Work — work — work ! 
As prisoners work for crime. 
Band, and gusset, and seam, 

Seam, and gusset, and band, 
Till the heart is sick, and the brain benumb'd, 

As well as the weary hand." 



268 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Who can help feeling the greatest pity for 
multitudes of poor women, who are suffering 
all the dreadful evils which this song so touch- 
ingly describes ? 

A great many rich people break this com- 
mandment in the way of which we are now 
speaking. If we should go through the streets 
in which our wealthy people live, how many 
we should find on whose elegant marble, or 
brown stone houses we might write, Fork D ; 
the meaning of which would be — This man got 
rich by extortion ; i. e., by making the poor 
labor for him, and not giving them the pay 
that their labor deserved. 

And then other people in Fork D break this 
commandment, by not paying the poor their 
wages as soon as they are due. 

For instance, here is a lady who has had a 
beautiful silk dress made. She is going to a 
party ; or perhaps she is going to get married 
in it. She puts it on, and goes into company, 
and enjoys herself; but the poor dressmaker 
is not paid. The lady does not intend to cheat 
her out of the money. She says to herself ; — 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 269 

" It's only a few dollars. It don't make any 
difference. I'll pay her some other time." It 
makes no difference to the rich lady ; — but it 
makes a wonderful difference to the poor wo- 
man. 

Perhaps it is winter, and her fuel is all gone, 
and she has to sit shivering in the cold, be- 
cause the money which the rich lady owes her 
for making that dress is not paid. Perhaps 
she is without food, and she and her children 
have to go hungry to bed, because that rich 
lady has neglected to pay her what she owes. 
She groans and cries in her misery. God 
hears those cries, and writes them in His book 
against that thoughtless lady. Just hear what 
the Bible says about this. " Behold, the hire 
of the laborers, which is of you kept back, 
crieth ; and the cries are entered into the ears 
of the Lord." — James v. 4. 

Do you know that God made a law among 
the Jews about this very thing ? You will 
find it in Deut. xxiv. 15. This law required 
the Jews always to pay those who had been 
working for them, before the sun went down. 
28* 



210 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



How kind, and tender God is, to think about 
the poor, and take care of them in this way ! 

When you grow up to be men and women, 
be sure that you always pay the poor well, who 
work for you. Yes, and pay them at once. 
There is an old proverb, which says, " He 
gives twice who gives quickly." And it is just 
as true of paying. But don't wait till you 
grow up. Talk about this matter at home, 
now. Don't live in fork D yourselves ; and 
if you can help it, don't let any of those about 
you live in it. 

People in fork D, break this commandment 
by extortion. 

Fork E is the only other branch of this sub- 
ject that we shall speak of. Those who dwell 
in this fork break the commandment by vio- 
lence and fraud. 

The word violence here, takes in all the 
burglars or housebreakers, the thieves and 
highway robbers, who are locked up in our 
prisons, or are prowling about our streets. It 
requires no argument to prove that these peo- 
ple break the commandment ; we are all agreed 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 21 1 



about this. I have no fear that any of you 
will be found in this fork. It is very seldom, 
indeed, that those who have been taught in 
Sabbath-schools, when young, are ever found 
at last, in such company as this. 

But the other side of this fork E, takes in 
a great many of what are called the most 
wealthy and respectable of our people. They 
break the eighth commandment by fraud, or 
cheating. 

Sometimes we hear that a bank is broken. 
We ask what caused that bank to fail? It 
turns out, that the president and directors of 
the bank took the money which was put in it, 
and used it in business, as if it had been their 
own. Perhaps they didn't intend to keep the 
money. They meant to put it back again, by 
and by. But their business didn't succeed. 
The money was lost. They never could get it 
again to put back. And when the poor wid- 
ows and orphans, whose money had been put 
in the bank, to be kept safely, came to ask for 
it, it was not there. The bank had failed. 
The money was lost. 



272 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Now, those officers had no more right to take 
this money, and use it in this way, than they 
had to go and break open another bank, and 
steal the money locked up in it. Man's law 
won't punish those men. It calls their con- 
duct only " a breach of trust." God's law 
calls it stealing. Those men break the eighth 
commandment, just as truly as the midnight 
robber does, who creeps into your house, and 
steals away your money while you are asleep. 

Officers of government are often found liv- 
ing in this fork E. Sometimes we read in 
the newspapers about some public officer, who 
had money to collect for the government. He 
disappears suddenly from home. He has gone 
to California, or to Europe. What is the 
matter ? Why, he owes some $50,000, or 
$100,000 to the government, and he can't pay 
it. But how did he come to owe the govern- 
ment all that money ? He took that much 
money, which belonged to the government, and 
used it for himself, and now he can't put it 
back again. Well, what is he called in the 
newspapers ? He is called " a defaulter /" A 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 273 



defaulter ! That doesn't sound so very badly. 
It seems to speak of him as if he were not 
much to blame. It represents him as guilty of 
only a slight mistake, a trifling fault. He is 
only " a defaulter ! " 

But the real meaning of this word, when 
applied to such a man, is, thief, or robber / 

Remember, my dear children, as long as you 
live, that if ever you have any money left in 
your charge, belonging to another person, you 
have no more right to use that money as your 
own, than you have to break into your neigh- 
bor's house and steal his money. 

The people in fork E, break this command- 
ment by violence, and fraud. 

Thus we have gone through five different 
forks. Let us see if we can recollect them, 
and the way in which the commandment is 
broken in each of them. Fork A, by forget- 
fulness ; — Fork B, by cunning ; — Fork C, 
by deceit ; — Fork I), by extortion ; — Fork 
E, by violence and fraud. 

There is a very important question to be 
considered, in closing this subject. The ques- 



274 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



tion is, — Hoiv sJwM we keep out of these 
Forks ? 

There are two things for us to do, if we would 
keep out of them. We must resist little temp- 
tations. This is one thing to do. Every thing 
must have a beginning. I remember reading 
once, about a man who was going to be hung 
for robbery and murder. On the scaffold he 
said he began to steal by taking a farthing 
from his mother's pocket, while she was asleep. 
Many children begin to steal, at the sugar- 
bowl, or the cake-basket. To take the small- 
est thing that does not belong to us, without 
permission, is stealing. 

A little girl was once taken by her mother 
into a shop. As she stood there, she saw a 
basket of oranges exposed for sale. They 
looked ripe and juicy. While her mother was 
engaged in another part of the store, she kept 
looking at the oranges. They made her 
mouth water. The thought came into her 
mind — Oh ! I wish I had one of them ! This 
was the beginning of the temptation. She 
ought to have resisted this, and turned away 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 275 

from them. But she didn't. She kept looking 
at them. The longer she looked, the more she 
wanted one. At length, watching an oppor- 
tunity, when no one saw her, she took an 
orange, hid it under her apron, and walked 
away. In a moment her conscience began to 
trouble her. She felt very uncomfortable. 
Presently she sidled up to the basket, and put 
the orange back in its place. Still she kept 
looking at it. She was tempted again to take 
it, and again she put it back. 

As she walked home with her mother, she 
looked, and felt very sad. When they were 
alone, she burst into tears, and said ; — " Oh ! 
mother, I've cracked one of the command- 
ments ! I didn't break it, — indeed, I didn't 
quite break it, mother, — but I'm sure I cracked 
it." 

This little girl did very right in putting the 
orange back. This kept her from quite break- 
ing the commandment. But if she had resisted 
the beginning of the temptation, by turning 
away from the orange, the moment she felt a 
desire for it, she would not even have cracked 



2*76 the king's highway. 

the commandment. We must resist little temp- 
tations, if we would keep out of the different 
forks in which this commandment is broken. 

And then there is another thing to do. We 
must pray to God to keep us from temptation. 
This is what Jesus has taught us to do every 
day, when, in using the Lord's prayer, we say — 
" Lead us not into temptation." 

There was a good man, once, named John 
Bradford. Whenever he saw any one taken to 
prison, or to the gallows, he used to say, " But 
for the grace of God, there goes John Brad- 
ford." He meant to say, that if God had not 
kept him from the way of temptation, or given 
him grace to resist it, he too might have been 
a thief, or a murderer. And this is true of us 
all. If we would not be found breaking this 
commandment, we must pray to God to keep 
us from temptation, or to give us grace to re- 
sist it. We can do nothing right without God's 
help. In every thing then, that we do, and es- 
pecially in our attempts to keep His command- 
ments, we must always pray for the help of 
God's grace, and Holy Spirit. There is a 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 277 

beautiful Collect in the Prayer-Book, very 
suitable to use after thinking about God's 
commandments. It is the Collect for the First 
Sunday after Trinity. Here it is. 

" God, the strength of all those who put 
their trust in Thee ; mercifully accept our 
prayers ; and, because, through the weakness 
of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing 
without Thee, grant us the help of Thy grace, 
that in keeping Thy commandments, we may 
please Thee, both in will and deed ; through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 



278 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



HYMN ON THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

Children, can you tell me who 

This command of God breaks through ? 

Only he who picks and steals ? 

Or the wish to do so feels ? 

If I should, when all alone, 

Something from another take ; 
. Would my sin to God be known ? 

Would I this Commandment break ? 
Yes, the eye of God can see, 

In the dark as in the light ; 
I should just as guilty be, 

As if thousands saw the sight. 

If I should refuse to give 

Words and deeds of love to men ; 
Though I might as others live ; 

Would I not be stealing then ? 
Yes, for I to all men owe 

Active love for Jesus' sake ; 
When I do not this bestow, 

Then I this Commandment break. 

Higher yet this sin extends — 

For it steals the spirit's love, 
From the very best of Friends : 

Robbing e'en the God above ! 
Save us from this sin we pray : — 

Help us, Lord, to love Thee more ; 
Teach us to begin to-day, 

If we have not loved before ! 



IX. 




" Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." 

— Exodus xx. 16. 



HIS commandment is about bearing 
witness. At once the question arises, 
What is to bear witness ? As com- 
monly understood, this refers to what 
0^ takes place in courts of law, where a 
person is being tried for some offence with 
which he is charged. 

Suppose you are in the market. While you 
are standing there, two men get to quarrelling. 
From words they fall to blows. At last one 
of them draws a dagger and stabs the other. 
If the wounded man dies, the other will be 
brought into court, by and by, to be tried for 
his life. Then, you, and the rest of the peo- 
ple who saw the fight, would be summoned 

(279) 



280 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



into court as witnesses. This means, that you 
would have to stand up there, and tell all that 
you knew about the quarrel, every thing that 
you saw and heard. When you were telling 
this, you would be bearing witness. If you 
gave a correct account, you would be a true 
witness. But, if you kept back part of what 
you saw and heard, or told about it differently 
from the way in which it took place, then you 
would be bearing false witness. It is a great 
sin to bear false witness, because before a per- 
son begins to speak as a witness, he is obliged 
to take a solemn oath that he will tell nothing 
but the truth ; and to tell a lie after this, is 
very dreadful. Simple-minded persons, and 
very young children, are not allowed to appear 
as witnesses in court, because they are not sup- 
posed to understand how solemn the oath is, 
which they are required to take before they 
speak as witnesses. 

Not very long ago, a little girl, only nine 
years old, was brought forward as a witness, 
in the trial of a person for stealing. The 
robbery had been committed in the house of 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



281 



the little girl's father. She had seen it. Her 
testimony was very important. The lawyer 
who was defending the thief, didn't want this 
little girl to appear as a witness. He knew 
that what she had to say, would be very much 
against his side of the question. So when she 
was brought in, he said to her ; — 

" Emily, do you know the nature of an oath ?" 

" I don't know what you mean, sir," said 
she. 

" There, may it please your honor," said the 
lawyer to the judge ; " she doesn't understand 
the nature of an oath. Is not this sufficient 
evidence that she is not fit for a witness ? I 
submit that she be rejected." 

" Let us see," said the judge. " Come here, 
my little daughter. Have you ever taken an 
oath ?" 

The red blood rose to her face and neck, at 
the very thought of it, as she answered, — 
" No, sir." 

" I do not mean a profane oath," said the 
judge. " Were you ever a witness in court 
before ?" 

24* 



282 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



" No, sir." 

" Do you know what book this is ?" said the 
judge, handing her a Bible. 

" Yes, sir ; it is the Bible." 

" Have you ever read that book ?" 

" Yes, sir ; I read it every evening." 

" Do you know what the Bible is, my child ?" 

" It is the Word of the Great God." 

" Now, my little dear, place your hand upon 
this book." 

She put her hand upon it tremblingly. He 
then repeated to her the form of the oath 
taken by one who is to be a witness. With 
her hand upon the Bible, she said ; — " I do 
solemnly swear, that what I am now about to 
say, is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
but the truth. So help me God." 

" Now, my dear," said the judge, "you have 
sworn as a witness ; do you know what the 
result will be if you do not speak the truth ?" 

" Yes, sir." 

" What ?" 

" I shall be locked up in the State Prison." 
" Any thing else ?" 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



283 



" Yes, sir ; I can not go to heaven." 

" How do you know that ?" 

She took the Bible, ran her fingers over the • 
leaves, and turned to the 20th chapter of Exo- 
dus, the 16th verse, and read ; — " Thou shalt 
not bear false witness against thy neighbor." 
" I learned that," said she, " before I could 
read the Bible." 

" Has any one told you that you were 
to be a witness in this case ?" asked the 
judge. 

" Yes, sir ; after mother heard that I was 
to be called, she took me to her room, and 
asked me to tell her the ten commandments ; 
and mother and I knelt down, and prayed that 
I might understand how wicked it was to bear 
false witness against a neighbor ; and that 
God would help me to tell the truth, if I had 
to go court to-morrow. And when I went 
away mother kissed me, and said to me ; — ■ 
" Remember the ninth commandment, and re- 
member that whatever you say in court, God 
hears every word of it." 

"Do you believe this ?" asked the judge, 



284 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



while a tear glistened in his eye, and his lip 
quivered with emotion. 

" Yes, sir," said the child, in a way which 
showed that she meant what she said. 

" God bless you, my child," said the judge, 
" you have a good mother. This witness is 
competent," he added. " If I were on trial for 
my life to-day, and innocent of the charge, 
I would pray God to give me such a witness 
as this child. Let her be examined." 

This little girl told the truth when she was 
called upon to speak, as a witness, in court. 
But we should feel as if we were in court, at 
all times, when we open our lips to speak. 
This world is like a great court. God is the 
Judge. Whenever we speak, we speak as wit- 
nesses about some person or thing. God, the 
Judge, has a great book, in which He writes 
down every thing we say. Whenever we say 
anything that is not true, we are bearing false 
witness. God says, " for every idle word we 
speak, we must give account in the day of 
judgment." And if for every idle word, much 
more for every false word. 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 285 

This commandment requires us, as the Cate- 
chism says, " to keep our tongues from evil- 
speaking, lying, and slandering." Slandering 
means saying any thing that will injure the 
character of another person. Those who do 
this break the commandment. 

There was a company of ladies once at the 
house of a clergyman. As he entered the 
room, he heard them speaking, in a low voice, 
of an absent friend. " She's very odd ;" says 
one. " Yes, very singular indeed ;" says an- 
other. " Do you know, she often does so and 
so ? " says a third, mentioning certain things 
to her discredit. The clergyman asked who 
it was. When told, he said ; — " Oh ! yes, she is 
odd ; she's very odd ; she's remarkably singu- 
lar. Why, would you believe it ?" he added, 
in a slow, impressive manner ; " she was never 
heard to speak ill of any absent friends /" 

A clergyman was once examining the children 
of an infant school upon the commandments. 
He put his hand on the head of a little boy, 
and said ; — " My little man, can you tell me 
what the ninth commandment means, by 



286 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



' bearing false witness against jour neigh- 
bor r " 

The boy hesitated a while, and then said ; — 
" It means telling lies, sir." 

The minister didn't exactly like this answer, 
so looking at a little girl, who stood next to 
him, he asked ; — " What do you say ?" 

Without waiting a moment, she replied ; — 
" It's when nobody does nothing, and somebody" 
goes and tells of it." " Very good," said the 
minister. 

The little girl's answer was a very funny 
one ; but the little boy's was true. Bearing 
false witness is telling lies ; and telling lies is 
bearing false witness. We break the ninth 
commandment, every time we tell a lie. We 
sometimes hear people talk about different 
kinds of lies. They call some little lies, and 
others big lies ; some white lies, and others 
black lies. But the Bible only speaks of one 
kind of lies. Every lie that is spoken, is big 
enough, and black enough, to break the ninth 
commandment. 

This commandment is so plain that it needs 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



287 



very little explanation. In talking about it 
then, it will only be necessary to give some 
reasons why we should not tell a lie, or bear 
false witness. I wish to speak of reasons why 
we should not break this commandment. And 
I wish you to remember, that whether I speak 
of breaking this commandment, or of bearing 
false witness, or of lying, I mean the same thing. 

The first reason why we should never bear 
false witness, or tell a lie, is, because it is a 
mean thing. 

Who was the first person of whom we know, 
that ever a told a lie ? Satan. Where was 
this lie told ? In the garden of Eden. Satan 
bore false witness against God. He contra- 
dicted God. He told Eve that she would not 
die, if she ate of the forbidden fruit — that it 
would do her good instead of harm. Satan 
will be known forever as the first liar. This 
is the reason why the Bible calls him — " the 
father of lies." 

In this way he got Adam and Eve turned 
out of Eden ; and filled the world with mis- 
ery, sorrow, and death. 



288 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



This was mean of Satan. He did it out of 
spite. Adam and Eve had done him no harm. 
But because he was miserable himself, he 
couldn't bear to see any body else happy. So 
without being able to do himself any good, he 
tried to do them the greatest harm that he 
could. He is the meanest person that can be 
found. 

But every liar, or slanderer, every one who 
bears false witness, is becoming like Satan. 
To lie is to do Satan's work. This is his mark. 
Who wants to bear it ? It is one of the mean- 
est of all things. It is a shameful, a disgrace- 
ful thing to tell a lie. There is no greater 
offence that can be given to a respectable, 
honorable person, than . to call him a liar. 
And the reason is that all such persons know 
how mean and contemptible a thing it is to 
tell a lie. 

When some miserable wretch is hung on 
the gallows because he is so wicked that he is 
not fit to live in decent society, wouldn't you 
be offended if any one should tell you that you 
were like him ? Certainly. But Satan is the 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 289 

meanest and wickedest of all creatures, and 
there is nothing that helps to make us like 
him more than lying. 

It is said that there is one place in India, 
where, when a person is found guilty of lying, 
he is taken to a public place, and, in the pres- 
ence of a multitude of people, his mouth is 
sewed up. 

A gentleman once sent his servant to mar- 
ket with the direction to bring home the best 
thing he could find. He carried home a 
tongue. He was sent again with the direction 
to bring home the worst thing he could find. 
Again he brought home a tongue. This was 
right. For the tongue is the best thing in the 
world, when properly used ; or the worst 
when not so used. The Bible calls it our 
" glory" when used to speak the truth, and to 
praise God. But when used for lying and 
swearing, it calls it " a fire — a world of in- 
iquity — an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." 
A false tongue is a disgraceful thing ; but one 
that speaks the truth, is an honor and glory. 

Let me give you an example of this. 
25 



290 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



There was once a little boy named Duncan. 
The boys used to call him " True Duncan" be- 
cause he would never tell a lie. One day, dur- 
ing recess, he was playing with an axe, in the 
school yard, and while he was chopping a stick, 
the teacher's cat, old Tabby, came along. Dun- 
can let the axe fall right on poor Tabby's back, 
and killed her. 

What to do he knew not. She was the mas- 
ter's pet, and used to sit on a cushion at his 
side, while he was hearing the lessons. 

Duncan stood and looked at the dead crea- 
ture. His face grew red, and the tears stood 
in his eyes. All the boys came running up, 
and every one had something to say. One 
of them was heard whispering to the others 
thus ; — 

" Now, fellows, we'll see whether Duncan 
can't make up a fib as well as the rest of us." 

" Not he," said Tom Pooley, who was Dun- 
can's friend. " Not he ; I'll warrant you, 
Duncan will be as true as gold." 

John Jones stepped up, and taking the cat 
by the tail, said ; — " Here, boys, I'll just fling 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 291 

her into the alley, and we can tell Mr. Cole, 
that the butcher's dog killed her ; you know 
he worried her last week." 

Some of them thought that this would do 
very well. But Duncan looked quite angry. 
His cheeks swelled, and his face grew redder 
than before. 

" No !" said he ; " no ! Do you think I 
would lie for such a creature as that? It 
would be a lie, a lie !" Each time he used the 
word his voice grew louder. 

Then he picked up the poor thing in his 
arms, and carried her into the school-room. 
The boys followed to see what would happen. 

The master looked up, and said ; — " What 
is this ? my poor Tabby killed ? Who could 
have done me such an injury ?" 

All were silent for a little while. As soon 
as Duncan could get his voice, he said ; — 

" Mr. Cole, I am very sorry — but here is the 
truth. I killed poor Tabby. Indeed, sir, I 
am very sorry. I ought to have been more 
careful, for I saw her rubbing her side against 
the log. I am more sorry than I can tell, sir." 



292 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Every one expected to see Mr. Cole get 
very angry, take down his rattan, and give 
Duncan a sound thrashing . But instead of 
this, he put on a pleasant smile, and said ; — 

" Duncan, you are a brave boy ! I saw and 
heard all that passed in the yard, from my 
window above. I had rather lose a hundred 
cats than miss such an example of truth and 
honor in my school. Your best reward is 
what you now feel in your own conscience ; 
but I beg you to accept this handsome pen- 
knife, as a token of my approbation." 

Duncan took out his handkerchief, and wiped 
his eyes. 

The boys couldn't keep in any longer ; and 
when Tom Pooley cried, " Three cheers for 
True Duncan," they all joined, and made the 
school-house ring with a hearty hurrah. 

The teacher then said ; — " My boys, I am 
glad you know what is right, and that you 
approve it ; though I am afraid some of you 
could not have done it. Learn from this time 
that nothing can make a lie necessary. Sup- 
pose Duncan had taken your evil advice, and 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 293 

come to me with a lie ; it would have been 
instantly detected, and instead of the honor of 
truth, he would have had only the shame of 
falsehood." 

We should never bear false witness, or tell 
a lie, because it is a mean thing. 

The second reason why we should not do it 
is, because it is an unprofitable thing. 

People generally expect to make something 
when they tell a lie. They think it will be 
profitable to them. 

You remember about G-ehazi, the servant of 
Elisha. When Naaman was cured of his 
leprosy, by the prophet, he felt so thankful 
that he wanted the man of God to take ever 
so much money from him. But Elisha refused 
to take any thing. Gehazi thought this was 
very foolish. It seemed to him like a good 
opportunity to get some money. So he ran 
after Naaman, told him a lie, and asked for a 
talent of silver, and two suits of clothes, in 
the name of his master. He said his master 
wanted these for two theological students, who 
had just come to see him. A talent of silver 



294 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



was worth nearly two thousand dollars. The- 
ological students must have been better off 
then, than now, if they were in the habit of 
receiving such princely presents. Naaman was 
so glad to think he was cured of his dreadful 
leprosy, that he was ready to give away almost 
any thing he was asked for. He made Gehazi 
take two suits of clothes, and two talents of 
silver, instead of one. I know not how much 
the clothing was worth ; but the two talents 
of silver were worth between three and four 
thousand dollars. And when Gehazi had got 
these treasures carried to his home, and stowed 
safely away, we may imagine how he chuckled 
to himself, and rubbed his hands with glee, at 
the thought of his gains. 

" A pretty good day's work !" he may have 
said to himself. " They may talk as they please 
about the ^profitableness of lying. I think 
I've done quite a profitable business to-day !" 

But wait a little. He goes into the room 
where his master is. Elisha looks sternly at 
him, and asks ; — " Where have you been, 
Gehazi ?" 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



295 



" Nowhere, sir says the miserable man, 
used to lying now, but trembling, and turning 
deadly pale. Then Elisha began and told 
him what he had done, and gave him a lecture 
on lying : the latter part of which, at least, he 
would never forget. It ended in these dread- 
ful words ; — " The leprosy therefore of Naa- 
man shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed 
forever !" As quick as lightning the fearful 
disease broke out upon him. "And he went 
out from the presence of Elisha, a leper, as 
white as snow." 

Poor Gehazi ! You have lost your situa- 
tion, your health, your character, all at once ! 
What do you think of lying, now ? I am very 
sure if he could speak to us now, in answer 
to this question, he would say ; — 

" I can tell you from my own experience, 
children, that lying is unprofitable." 

And Ananias and Sapphira could tell us 
something about this matter, too, if they could 
speak. And what multitudes besides could 
testify to the same thing ! 

A shopkeeper has a piece of damaged goods 



296 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



which he wishes to be rid of. A person comes 
into his store, and offers to buy it, if he will 
warrant it a good article. Now, he thinks he 
can profit by telling a lie. He says it is of 
the very best quality, sound, and good. He 
sells the article. The purchaser finds he is 
deceived. He says to himself; — "I'll never 
buy any thing at that store again !" And thus, 
without any reference to the sin he committed, 
his lying is unprofitable. 

A fashionable lady, once, was busy doing 
something in which she did not wish to be in- 
terrupted. She called her servant, and said : 
" Biddy, I wish to be undisturbed to-day. If any 
body calls for me, tell them I am not at home." 

How many fashionable ladies and others, do 
this, without reflecting that they are not only 
breaking the ninth commandment themselves, 
but teaching their servants to break it also ! 
In the evening this lady found, to her great 
distress, that one of her particular friends 
had been taken suddenly ill, and died during 
the day. She was very anxious to see her, 
and sent several messengers to bid her come, 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 297 



but these were always told she was not at 
home. You can imagine how dreadfully she 
must have felt when she understood this. 

After all these instances of the unprofitable- 
ness of lying, I must give you one story to 
show the profitableness of telling the truth, 
before leaving this part of our subject. 

It is related of a Persian mother that, on 
giving her son forty pieces of silver as his 
portion, she made him swear never to tell a 
lie, and then said ; — " Go, my son ; I consign 
thee to G-od : we shall not meet again till the 
day of judgment." 

The youth went way, and the party he trav- 
elled with was attacked by robbers. One 
fellow asked the boy what he had got, and he 
said ; — " Forty dinars are sewed up in my 
garments." The robber laughed, and thought 
he was only jesting. Another asked him the 
same question, and received the same an- 
swer. 

At last the chief called him, and asked him 
what he had. He said ; — " I have told two of 
your people already, that I have forty dinars 



298 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



sewed up in my clothes." He ordered the 
clothes to be ripped open, and found the money. 

" And how came you to tell this ?" asked 
the chief. 

" Because/ 7 replied the child, " I would not 
be false to my mother, to whom I promised 
never to tell a lie." 

" Child," said the robber, " art thou so mind- 
ful, at thy tender years, of thy duty to thy 
mother, and am I insensible, at my age, of the 
duty I owe to God ? Give me thy hand, that 
I may swear repentance on it." 

He did so. His followers were all struck 
with the scene. 

" You have been our leader in guilt," said 
they to the chief, " now be the same in the 
path of virtue." They immediately gave back 
what they had stolen, and began at once to 
lead an honest life. 

We ought not to lie, or bear false witness, 
because it is unprofitable. 

The third reason why we ought not to do this 
is, because it is dangerous. 

Lying is like letting water through a bank. 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



299 



When it once begins to run, there is no telling 
where it will stop. 

Here is a large ship. It is made up of a 
vast number of great pieces of timber, all 
fastened together. It is very strong. It can 
cross the ocean, breasting the storms, and rid- 
ing over the angry billows, without receiving 
any harm. But what holds those pieces of 
timber together, and makes that ship so strong ? 
Why, the bolts of iron, or copper, which are 
driven through her timbers. 

Now, suppose it were possible, all at once, 
to draw every bolt and fastening out of that 
ship, as she sails over the ocean ? What 
would become of her ? She would fall to 
pieces directly, and all her cargo would be 
lost. 

Well, every family, every village, or town, 
is like such a ship. It is made up of a number 
of persons bound together. And what binds 
them together ? Why, truth, or confidence. 
Truth among people in society, is like the 
bolt in the ship. If nobody told the truth, 
and people had no confidence in one another, 



* 



300 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



they could no more live together, in families, 
or communities, and do business together, than 
a number of pieces of timber, without bolts 
to fasten them together, could make a ship. 

Would it not be very dangerous to have a 
person on board a ship who had a machine for 
drawing the bolts oat, and who was trying 
to use it all the time ? Certainly it would. 
Well, lying is such a machine, in families, and 
societies. Every one who bears false witness, in 
any way, is using this machine. He is trying 
to draw the bolts out of families, and societies, 
so that they can't hold together. This is very 
dangerous. 

Let me show you what injury may be done 
by lying. 

There was a large river, across which seve- 
ral dams were built within the distance of a 
few miles. These dams were built to form as 
many ponds, and carry on as many mills. But 
during a severe storm, which greatly swelled 
the river, the upper dam was carried away. 
This brought the flood with so much pressure 
on the second dam, that that went, too ; and 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



301 



so with all the rest, one after another. If the , 
first dam had been strong enough to resist the 
pressure of the current, none of the others 
would have given way. 

So it is with falsehood, and other sins. If 
we stop the first lie, we stop all the rest. 
If we are not disobedient the first time, we 
never shall be disobedient. If we do not use 
the first profane word, we never shall use the 
second. It is consenting to the first sin that 
does all the mischief. 

Some time since, a youth about fifteen years 
of age, whose name was James, came to this 
city to reside. He was employed as a clerk 
in a store. He was faithful at first, and his 
employer liked him very much, and treated 
him with great confidence. One day he stepped 
into the store of a young man whose acquaint- 
ance he had for Died. He was offered a glass 
of wine. He hesitated, but finally yielded, 
and drank it. On the following day, this 
young man called in at the store where James 
was employed. His employer was not in at 
the time. James thought he must return the 
26 



302 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



kindness of his young friend, on the previous 
day, and accordingly he treated Mm to a glass 
of wine. But, in drawing the liquor, he did 
not close the stop-cock securely, and it was 
left running a little. As his employer passed 
through the store, he discovered it. 

" Have you been at this barrel, James ?" he 
asked. 

The youth hesitated, as if there was a strug- 
gle in his breast between right and wrong, but 
finally replied, — 

11 No, sir." 

Here the first dam was carried away. We 
shall see how the others followed. 

His employed looked as if he doubted it, 
but said no more. 

The next day the young man came in again, 
and said to the owner of the store ; — " Will 
you sell me a barrel of wine, such as James 
gave me yesterday ? 77 The gentleman gave a 
searching look at James, who felt almost ready 
to sink into the earth. He took the first op- 
portunity to see the young man, and asked 
him to tell his employer that he drew the wine 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 303 

himself. Here was another dam gone. The 
young man promised to do so, if he would 
treat him to an oyster supper. James agreed. 
Both parties fulfilled the agreement. But 
James had no money of his own, and hence he 
took some from the drawer in the store to pay 
for the supper. Here was another dam gone. 
After the oyster supper, he was invited to 
gamble. At first he declined ; but then, think- 
ing he might make as much money as he had 
taken from his employer, and thus be able to 
replace it, he yielded. He played, and lost. 
But still, supposing he might win, he continued 
to take money from the store, until it was 
missed. Seeing that he was likely to be de- 
tected, he resolved one night that he would 
take two hundred dollars that were in the 
desk, and endeavor to win enough to replace 
all he had taken from his employer. 

At midnight he arose. He entered the store, 
took the two hundred dollars, and went to the 
gambling house, where he lost the whole. Now 
he was desperate. What could he do ? He did 
this. Knowing that his employer had money 



304 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



in a certain bank, he forged a check in his 
name. He hastened to the bank and presented 
it. It was discovered to be a forgery. He 
was taken up, and sent to the penitentiary. 
Thus all the dams were swept away. And all 
this followed from that first lie. If James had 
told the truth then, the first dam would have 
been protected, and all the others saved. 

This shows the truth of our third reason. 
We ought not to bear false witness, or tell a 
lie, because it is a dangerous thing. 

Our fourth and last reason is, we ought not 
to do it, because it is a wicked thing. 

There are two things that show us how wick- 
ed it is to bear false witness. 

What God says of those ivho do it; and 
what God does with them. These both show 
us how wicked it is. 

Now, look at what God says of those who 
lie, or bear false witness. 

He says in one place ; — " Ye shall not deal 
falsely, neither lie, one to another." Levit. 
xix. 11. He says in another place; — "The 
Lord hates a false witness that speaketh lies.'' 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 305 

Prov. vi. 19. Again He says; — "He that 
speaketh lies shall perish." Prov. xix. 5. He 
says ; — "A lying tongue is but for a moment." 
Prov. xii. 19. And in another place, he says ; 
— " Lying lips are an abomination unto the 
Lord." Prov. xii. 22. How fearfully wicked 
that must be, about which God uses language 
so strong as this ! Who would want to be an 
abomination before Him who is the wisest, and 
best, and most gracious of all beings ? When 
you are tempted to tell a lie, of any kind, or 
under any circumstances, think of what God 
says about lying, and say to yourself, — shall I 
make myself hateful in the sight of God ? 

What God says of lying, shows how wicked 
it is. 

But then look at what God does with liars ! 

You know we read in the last two chapters 
of the New Testament, of a glorious vision 
which the apostle John had of - heaven. As it 
appeared before him, it was more beautiful 
than any thing he had ever seen or thought of. 
It was like a great city. Its foundations were 
of precious stones. Its walls were made of 
26* 



306 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



jewels. Its gates were made of pearl. Its 
streets were paved with golden stones, but the 
gold was like crystal, as transparent as glass. 
A river of clear water flowed through the 
city. On each side of the river, the tree of 
life was growing. He saw the throne of God, 
and of the Lamb, within the city. There is 
no night there. No sorrow — no crying — no 
sin. He saw the angels going in and out of 
the city. He saw the redeemed from among 
men, there too. They were clothed in white 
raiment, and were walking with Jesus beside 
that beautiful river. Presently, he came to 
the gate of the city. When he looked over 
the gate, he saw some writing. This writing 
told who they were that should not be allowed 
to enter into the city. He was very anxious 
to read that writing, and find out who they 
were, who should never go into that beautiful 
place. He read the writing. He has told us 
what it was. This was part of it ; — " There 
shall in no ivise enter herein, any thing that — 
maketh A lie ! " Think of this. No admit- 
tance for liars. This is written as with a 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT 307 

sunbeam over the gate of heaven. Bear this 
in mind, when you are tempted to tell a lie. 

But if liars cannot enter heaven, what be- 
comes of them ? If God does not let them go 
into that glorious city, what does He do with 
them ? There is one dreadful passage of scrip- 
ture which tells us. We read, Rev. xxi. 8, 
" All liars shall have their part in the lake 
that burnetii with fire and brimstone." This 
is fearful indeed ! 

What God says of liars, and what God does 
with them, both help to prove how wicked a 
thing it is to lie. 

Thus we have had four reasons why we 
should not bear false witness. Let us see if 
we can recollect them. 

We ought not to do it, in the first place, 
because it is a mean thing ; secondly, because it 
is an unprofitable thing ; thirdly, because it 
is a dangerous thing ; and, fourthly, because it 

is a WICKED THING. 

In conclusion, my dear children, let me en- 
treat you to make it a point, on every occasion, 
to speak the truth. Let this be a settled rule 



308 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



with you ; a rule, too, that shall never be 
broken. Let nothing ever tempt you to tell a 
lie. God calls Himself " The God of truth." 
He loves the truth ; and while " lying lips are 
an abomination to Him," those that speak 
truly are said to be " His delight." 

Speaking the truth, is the thing that espe- 
cially distinguishes Him." And this is one of 
the ways in which we should strive to be like 
God. What an honor it is for any young 
person to have it said of him, he always spealcs 
the truth ! A crown of gold upon the head, 
would not be half so desirable an ornament, 
as a crown of truth. 

" Oh ! 'tis a lovely thing for youth 

To walk betimes in wisdom's way ! 
To fear a lie, to speak the truth, 
That we may trust to all they say." 

If you ever find yourself saying what is not 
true, repent of it as a great sin. Pray God, 
for Jesus' sake, to forgive you. And ask Him 
to give you grace to forsake every false way 
and word ; — to hate lying, and always to love 
and speak the truth. 



THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



309 



HYMN ON THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 

I must not let my tongue 

A word of falsehood speak, 
Which may my humblest neighbor wrong, 

And God's commandments break. 

Nor must I seek to throw 

Suspicion on his deeds ; 
For I may not the motive know, 

From which the act proceeds. 

I must not harshly judge, 

When others go astray ; 
Or in my spirit bear a grudge, 

To prompt the words I say. 

For, when I look within, 

And see the evil there, 
I scarcely think another's sin 

Can with my own compare ! 

Then let the law of love 

My guide in all things be ; 
And may I by its judgment prove 

The good and ill I see. 

Dear Saviour ! let me keep 

Thy pattern in my view ; 
And always strive to think and speak 

As thou would'st have me do ! 



X. 



" Thou Shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; thou shalt not covet 
thy neighbor's wife ; nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor 
his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's."— Exodus 
xx. 17. 



UPPOSE that we were farmers. We 
move out to the West, and buy a farm. 
A large part of our farm is covered 
with forest trees. We want to clear 
a portion of it, and turn it into fields, 
where we can raise Indian corn, or wheat. 
We cut down the trees, and split up, and haul 
away the timber. But after all this, the 
stumps remain in the ground ; and if nothing 
is done to them, they will soon begin to sprout 
up again. It is very important for us, as farm- 
ers, to get those stumps all removed. 

Somebody has invented a machine, that is 

(310) 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 311 

called a " Boot Extractor." It has great, 
strong, iron hooks. These are fastened to' the 
roots, and then, by turning a wheel, or crank, 
connected with some very powerful machinery, 
the tough, crooked, gnarled roots are torn out 
by main force. It would be a grand thing for 
us, on our western farm, to have one of these 
Root Extractors. Then, how nicely we should 
get our field cleared ! We should go to work, 
with one stump after another ; and, in a little 
while, they would be all gone, and we should 
have no more trouble with them. 

My dear children, our hearts are like a field, 
full of trees. This field has to be cleared. 
The trees here, are our sins, the wicked feel- 
ings and tempers that belong to us. When 
we are converted, and our hearts are renewed, 
by the grace of Jesus, then these trees are cut 
down. But the roots of them remain. Even 
when we become Christians, we find the roots 
of our old sins springing up again. And cov- 
etousness is the worst of these roots. You re- 
member that St. Paul says, — "The love of 
money," — (this means, coveting, or desiring 



312 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



money) — " is the root of all evil." — 1 Tim. 
vi. 10. It is very important for us to have 
these roots removed. 

Now the tenth commandment may well be 
called G-od's great " Root Extractor." If we 
pray to Him for grace to understand, and keep 
it, we shall find that it pulls up sin by the 
roots, from our hearts, and prevents it from 
growing there. This is what the command- 
ment was intended to do ; and this is what it 
does, wherever it is properly kept. It plucks 
sin up by the roots, and leaves the ground of 
our hearts clear, for the good seed of God's 
grace to grow in. 

Now let us look at this *commandment. 

" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house ; 
thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife ; nor 
his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his 
ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neigh- 
bor's." 

The first four words of this commandment 
contain the substance of what it requires of us. 

" Thou shalt not covet." To covet means, 
to wish for something that belongs to another. 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



313 



Sometimes we see a company of children, 
standing at the window of a store. It may be 
a jeweller's store. One of them says, — "Oh ! 
I wish 1 had that gold watch ! " Another 
says, — ;; I wish I had that beautiful diamond 
ring ! " A third says, — "Ah ! but I wish I had 
that splendid silver pitcher !" 

Those children do not think what they are 
doing. Wishing, means coveting. The tenth 
commandment says, — " Thou shalt not covet 
any thing that is thy neighbor's." They are 
breaking this commandment, as they stand 
there, wishing for, or coveting their neighbor's 
goods. 

Here is a money-changer's office. In the 
window are vessels full of gold and silver 
coin, of different kinds. Bundles of bank- 
notes, too, are lying piled up there. There 
comes a man along. Perhaps he is very poor. 
He stands before that window. He gazes on 
those shining stores, — those heaps of notes, — 
and as he gazes, the desire to possess them 
springs up in his heart, and he whispers to 
himself, — "Oh ! how I wish I had that money ! " 
27 



314 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



In indulging that wish, he is coveting his 
neighbor's silver and gold ; and thus he breaks 
the commandment. This wishing, or coveting, 
if it be allowed to remain, will grow up into 
the desire to get that money. If the man can 
not get it in a right way, he will try to get it 
in a wrong way. It will make him a thief, or 
robber. Here you see how coveting is to 
stealing, just what the root is to the tree. 
The tree grows out of the root ; and so steal- 
ing grows out of coveting. But the tenth 
commandment forbids us to covet. Hence I 
say, it is God's great root extractor. It pulls 
up these roots of evil from our hearts. 

Whenever we allow ourselves to covet, or 
to wish for any thing that belongs to another, 
we are guilty of the sin of breaking this com- 
mandment. It is a very plain commandment. 
There is no difficulty in understanding what it 
means. It is not necessary to say any thing 
more for the purpose of explaining it. The 
most important thing is for us to consider 
some of the reasons why we should not covet. 

There are four reasons to be considered. 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 315 

We should not covet, in the first place, because 

it IS UNSATISFYING. 

If we get the things we covet, instead of 
being satisfied, we shall only want more. 

If you put a tub, without any bottom to it, 
under a pump, and begin to pump the water 
into it, how long will it take you to fill it ? 
You never can fill it. Well, our covetous de- 
sires are like a tub without a bottom. And 
trying to get satisfied, by indulging them, is 
just like trying to fill a tub with water, when 
there is no bottom to it. 

Suppose here is a fire burning. How soon 
will it go out, if you keep putting on wood all 
the time ? It won't go out at all. If you 
want to make it go out, you must stop putting 
on wood. 

A Christian father, once, wanted to teach 
his little son this lesson, so that he would not 
be likely to forget it. He asked him this 
question ; — " Willie, when do you suppose a 
man will have money enough to satisfy him ? " 

" When he's got a thousand dollars more 
than he needs to pay all his expenses." 



316 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



" No — answered his father. 
" When he's got five thousand more than he 
needs," said Willie. 

" No f — said the father again. 
" Ten thousand." 
" No." 

" Twenty thousand." 
" No." 

" Fifty thousand." 
"No." 

Willie thought he would make one more 
desperate guess, that Avould be sure to hit the 
mark. So he cried out ; — 

" Well, when he's got a hundred thousand 
dollars." 

But still his father met him with the same 
short answer, " No." 

" Then I'll give it up," said Willie, in despair. 

" When he has got, — a little more, — than he 
now has," said his father, " and that is — never. 
If he gets one thousand, he wishes to have two. 
When he gets two, he wants five ; then he 
wants ten, — then twenty — fifty, — then a hun- 
dred thousand, and so on, till he has grasped 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



317 



the whole world ; and then, like Alexander, 
he would be ready to weep because there were 
no other worlds for him to possess." 

Not long ago, a rich farmer died, in Ches- 
ter county, Pennsylvania. When a young man, 
he was quite poor. After a while he managed 
to buy a few acres of land. From time to 
time he added more and more to them, till he 
found himself the owner of the largest farm 
in the township. Afterwards, as he was very 
successful, he managed to buy first one farm, 
and then another, till seven or eight of the 
largest farms, in the neighborhood, belonged 
to him. At last he took sick. The physician 
came to see him. He told him his disease 
could not be cured. He must die in a short 
time. On hearing this, his reply was ; — 

" Oh ! what a pity ! If I could only live 
fifteen years longer, I should own all Chester 
county " 

" How strange it is," said a young man, one 
day, to Dr. Franklin, " that when men get 
rich, they are just as unsatisfied, and anxious 
to make money, as when they were poor." 
27* 



318 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



There was a little child playing in the room 
near them. " Johnny, come here," said Dr. F. 

The little fellow came up to him. " Here, 
my man, is an apple for you," said he, hand- 
ing one from a fruit-basket on the table. It 
was so large that the child could hardly grasp 
it. He then gave it a second, which filled the 
other hand ; and picking out a third, remark- 
able for its size and beauty, he said, " Here's 
another." The child tried hard to hold this 
last apple between the other two ; but it drop- 
ped on the carpet, and rolled away over the 
floor. On seeing this, he burst into tears. 

" See," said Dr. F., " there is a little man 
with more riches than he can enjoy, but not 
satisfied." 

Before the time of our Saviour, there was a 
celebrated Grecian king, whose name was 
Pyrrhus. He had a flourishing kingdom, with 
every thing about him to make him comforta- 
ble. But being a great soldier, he was not 
satisfied without trying to conquer other coun- 
tries. He was preparing to go to war with 
the Romans. One day, before they started, a 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 319 



wise man, named Cineas, belonging to his 
court, said to him — " Sire, the Romans are a 
brave, and warlike people ; but if we conquer 
them, what shall we do next ? " 

" The Romans once conquered," answered 
Pyrrhus, " no city will resist us ; we shall 
then be masters of all Italy." 

" Having subdued all Italy, what shall we 
do next ? " asked Cineas. 

" Then we shall take Sicily," said Pyrrhus. 

" Will that put an end to the war ? " in- 
quired Cineas. 

"By no means," replied Pyrrhus. " Then 
Lybia and Carthage will soon be ours ; and 
no enemies will be able to stand before us." 

" Very true," said Cineas ; " and when all 
these are in our possession, what shall we 
then do ? " 

" Then," said the king, smiling, " we shall 
stay at home, and enjoy ourselves." 

" Well, sire," observed the wise man, " and 
why can't we stay at home, and enjoy our- 
selves now, without all this trouble and dan- 
ger ? " 



320 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



■ But Pyrrhus would not take the advice of 
his friend. He went to Avar. He was finally 
killed in battle, and never found the enjoy- 
ment which he had promised himself. 

We should not covet, because it is unsatisfy- 
ing. This is the first reason. 

Again, ive should not covet, because it is dis- 
gkaceful. This is the second reason. 

"We read of some places where, when peo- 
ple commit certain sins, they are punished by 
having the first letter of the word that repre- 
sents their sin, branded with a red-hot iron upon 
the cheek, or forehead. Here, for instance, is 
a man who has been thieving. He is a thief. 
He has the letter T burnt upon his brow. 
Wherever he goes, he carries the mark of his 
sin upon him. Every one who sees him, knows 
that he is a thief. Would not that be a dis- 
graceful thing ? Yes. Would you want to 
keep company with such a person, or have 
any thing to do with him ? Certainly not ; 
unless you knew that he had truly repented of 
his sin, and would never steal again. 

But a person who covets, is very nearly re- 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 321 

lated to a thief. They are first cousins to 
each other. Nay, the relationship is closer 
than that. They are like the same person, or 
thing, as seen at different times, and under 
different circumstances. 

Let me illustrate this. Here, for instance, 
is a chicken almost ready to be hatched j and 
there is a chicken that is already hatched. 
What is the difference between them ? Why, 
one is in the shell, while the other is out of 
it. That is all the difference. There is noth- 
ing in the world but the thickness of that thin 
shell, which separates one of them from the 
other. A slight tapping, — a very little peck- 
ing, on the end of that shell, and it is broken 
through ; and then out comes the chicken, as 
lively and active as its little brother that came 
out yesterday. 

Now just such is the relation that exists be- 
tween a covetous person and a thief. There 
is nothing but a thin shell that separates them 
from each other. The covetous person is a 
thief in the shell. The thief is a covetous per- 
son out of the shell. Let a covetous person 



322 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



see something that he desires very much ; and 
let an opportunity of taking it be offered, and 
how very soon, like the chicken ready to be 
hatched, he will break through the shell, and 
come out in his true character as a thief. 

Now, suppose that God, in His providence, 
should cause to come out upon the foreheads 
of people, in lines as of fire, a letter repre- 
senting the sin that each one had committed, 
what would be the difference between the 
marks on the forehead of a thief, and of a cov- 
etous person? They would both have the 
same letter. This same disgraceful, dreadful 
T would be on each. There it would stand, 
the blazing, burning mark of sin and shame, 
on each ; only the thief would have a rather 
larger, brighter T, than that seen on the fore- 
head of the covetous person. Then, surely, 
if coveting is so closely related to thieving, 
we should be very careful that we do not 
covet, because it is disgraceful. This is the 
second reason. 

But again, we should not covet, because it is 
injurious. This is the third reason. 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



323 



There are several ways in which it is injuri- 
ous to indulge a covetous spirit. 

Sometimes it is injurious to a person's char- 
acter. There was once a nobleman, in Italy, 
who was going to be married. Great prep- 
arations were made for the wedding feast. 
Every thing necessary for the occasion had 
been procured, except some fish, of which the 
Italians are very fond. But the sea had been 
so rough for many days, that the fishermen, in 
the neighborhood, had been quite unsuccessful. 
The day before the wedding was to take place, 
however, a fisherman came along, who had a 
fine large turbot for sale. He knocked at the 
gate of the nobleman's residence, and inquired 
if they wanted any fish. The porter who kept 
the gate was a very covetous man. He was 
ready to take advantage of every opportunity 
to get a little money, whether the way of get- 
ting it was right or wrong. He told the fish- 
erman that they wanted a fish very much, in 
his master's house, and as it was for a wedding 
feast, they would be willing to give a good 
price for it ; but he said he would not let the 



324 



THE KINGS HIGHWAY. 



man in, unless he would promise to give him 
one half of what he might get for it. 

The fisherman thought this was so unjust 
that, at first, he refused to do it. But finding 
he could not get in, on any other terms, he con- 
sented. As he went in, however, he made up 
his mind to teach the porter a lesson, that he 
would not soon forget. 

He was ushered into the presence of the 
nobleman, who was so delighted to see so fine 
a fish, that he offered to give the man any 
price he might ask for it. 

" You will think, perhaps, I am naming a 
strange price," said the fisherman, " when I tell 
you that a hundred lashes, laid on my bare 
back, is the price of my fish, and I will not 
take any thing else for it." 

The nobleman was greatly surprised. He 
thought the man was joking, and tried to rea- 
son him out of his strange notion. But find- 
ing the fisherman resolute in his demands, he 
said ; — 

" Well, well, the poor fellow is certainly 
crazy. We must have the fish, however. Give 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



325 



him his price ; and let hini be paid in my pres- 
ence ; but lay it on very lightly." 

As soon as fifty lashes had been given him, 
he cried ; — " Hold, hold ! I have a partner in 
this business, and he must have his share of the 
price of the fish." 

" What ! " exclaimed the nobleman, " is it 
possible that there are two such mad fellows 
in the world ? Who is your partner, and he 
shall be sent for at once ? " 

" You need not go very far for him," said 
the fisherman ; " you will find him at your 
gate, in the shape of your own porter, who 
would not let me in until I promised he should 
receive half of what I got for my turbot." 

" Oh ! oh ! " said the nobleman, " bring him 
in instantly. Let him have his share, by all 
means ; and lay it on soundly." 

The porter received his share of the prl°,e 
asked for the fish. Then he was immediately 
discharged, while the fisherman was amply re- 
warded. The porter lost his character and 
nis situation. He certainly found covetous- 
ness injurious. It injured his character. 
28 



326 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Sometimes covetousness is injurious by caus- 
ing great trouble to others, besides the person 
who is guilty of this sin. 

Look at the case of Achan, mentioned in the 
Bible. Joshua, 7th chapter. The children of 
Israel have just crossed over Jordan. They 
are about to take the city of Jericho. God 
charges them to put all the people in the city 
to death, and not to take any of the spoils of 
the city to themselves, but to set it all apart 
for His service. He commands them solemnly 
to mind this order, and declares that if they 
do not, it w T ill bring a curse upon them, and 
be a trouble to the whole nation. 

Now the walls of Jericho have fallen down. 
The city is taken. The people in it are put to 
death. The Israelites are gathering all the 
spoil together, according to God's command- 
ment. 

There is Achan. He enters a fine looking 
house. No one is with him. He finds a 
wedge of gold, a bag of silver, and a beauti- 
ful garment. How tempting they look ! He 
covets them. He says to himself " How I 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



327 



should like to have these \ And why may I 
not ? There is no one here to see. They 
won't be missed, amid all the spoil of this 
great city. I'll take thein." 

He carries them quietly away • digs a hole 
in his tent, and buries them there. He thinks 
no one has seen him. Poor, foolish man ! he 
forgets that " the eyes of the Lord are in every 
place, beholding the evil, and the good." God 
saw it all, and the Bible tells us how He made 
it known. 

The Israelites go on to take another city. 
They send their army against it. Their army 
is defeated, and a number of soldiers killed. 
They come back discouraged. All the people 
are afraid. Look at Joshua, their brave cap- 
tain. He has rent his clothes, and fallen to 
the ground ; there he spends the day, weeping 
and praying before the ark of the Lord. All 
the elders of Israel are there with him. Their 
clothes are rent, and their heads covered with 
ashes. The progress of a large army is stop- 
ped, and hundreds of thousands of people are 
plunged in sorrow and distress. And what 



328 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



has occasioned all this trouble ? The covetous- 
ness of one man ! 

You know how his sin was found out, and 
how he was punished for it. Joshua told 
Achan that he had troubled all Israel. And so 
lie had. 

A grain of sand is a small thing. But sup- 
pose I open my watch, and drop it in among 
the works, what effect will it have ? It will 
stop it. Yes, and unless it is gotten out, the 
watch will be of no use. The different tribes 
of Israel were like the wheels of a great 
watch. Achan's one sin was like the grain of 
sand dropped in among them. It stopped the 
watch. It could not be set in motion again 
until the grain of sand was taken out. The 
sin of Achan occasioned great trouble to 
others, as well as himself. In this way covet- 
ousness is injurious. 

And then it is often injurious too, as occa- 
sioning the death of those who are guilty of it. 

I might mention a great many instances, to 
illustrate this part of our subject, but I shall 
give you only two. 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 329 

Some years ago, there was a large ship, 
called the Kent, going from England to the 
East Indies. On her voyage she canght fire. 
The flames could not be put out. While she 
was burning, another vessel came in sight, and 
offered to take off her crew and passengers. 
The sea was very rough, and the only way to 
get the people off the burning ship, was to let 
them down by ropes, from the end of a boom, 
into the little boats that were tossed about, 
like corks, by the rough waves below. 

One of the sailors, who knew that the mate 
had a large* quantity of gold in his possession, 
determined to get it, and take it with him. 
So he broke into the mate's cabin, forced open 
his desk, and taking two thousand dollars in 
gold pieces, put them in a belt, and fastened 
it round his waist. His turn came to leave 
the burning ship. He got out to the end of 
the boom, slipped down the rope, and let go, 
expecting to drop right into the boat that was 
beneath him. But a sudden movement of the 
waves carried the boat out of his reach, and 
he was plunged into the sea. He was an ex- 
28*- 



330 



THE KINGS HIGHWAY. 



cellent swimmer, and if it had not been for the 
gold he had coveted, he would have risen, like 
a cork, to the surface, and soon been safe in 
the boat. But the weight of the money round 
his waist, made him sink like lead, in the 
mighty waters. He never rose again to the 
surface. Ah ! as he felt the golden weight 
dragging him deeper and deeper down into 
the vast ocean, he must have understood, 
plainly enough, liow injurious covetousness is ! 

Here is another example of the same kind. 

Some years ago there was a man living in a 
certain town in France, whose covetous feel- 
ings had become so strong as to make him a 
miser, of the very worst kind. By oppressing 
the poor, and taking advantage of them in 
every possible way, he had become exceed- 
ingly rich. 

The king wanted to borrow some money from 
him, but, thinking the interest offered for it 
was not enough, and fearing that perhaps he 
might never get it back again, he pretended 
that he had not got as much money as the king 
wanted. He said he had met with heavy losses. 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



331 



which had left him quite poor. Then he was 
afraid that his neighbors, who, he knew, all dis- 
liked him very much, might report to the gov- 
ernment how rich he was ; and that perhaps 
somebody would be sent to search his house, 
and so he might lose some of his much-loved 
gold. He resolved, therefore, to hide his treas- 
ures, so that, if a search was made for them, 
they could not be found out. For this pur- 
pose, he had a large cave dug in the cellar of 
his house. This was walled up, and arched 
over, with a door in the top of it, from which 
he could go down by a ladder. The door was 
furnished with a spring lock, which, on being 
shut, would fasten of itself. Here he stowed 
all his bags of gold and silver, with the feeling 
that now his treasures were perfectly secure. 

After a while, the miser suddenly disap- 
peared. Inquiries were made for him ; the 
house was searched ; the woods were ex- 
plored ; the ponds were dragged, but no trace 
of him could be found. The people supposed 
that he had taken his money and gone to live 
in some place where he was not known. 



332 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Sometime after, the house in which he had 
lived was sold. The new owner made some 
alterations and repairs. While the workmen 
were engaged in these, they found the trap 
door to the miser's cave. They broke it open. 
They got a light and went down. The first 
thing that met their eyes at the foot of the 
ladder, was the ghastly skeleton of the 
wretched miser, while all around him lay 
heavy bags of gold, and great chests of untold 
treasure. He had gone down to look at his' 
treasures, — to worship his golden god, — and 
while there, the door had shut upon him, and 
fastened him in. No human being could hear 
the loudest shout he might have raised. There 
he was left to die a miserable, lingering death, 
in the midst of the gold he so much coveted. 
There was gold in bags ; gold in chests ; gold 
piled in heaps ; gold for a pillow ; and gold 
strewed under him to lie upon, but in the 
midst of it all, he starved to death ! 

What an illustration of the sad effects 
of covetousness ! " Thou shalt not covet ! " 
Why ? Because it is injurious. 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



333 



The fourth and last reason why we should 
not covet is, because it is sinful. 

It breaks this commandment. And the worst 
thing you can say of any sin is, that it breaks 
God's law. Remember this, whenever you 
are tempted to covet any thing. You break 
God's commandment by it. How sinful this 
is! 

But by coveting we break two command- 
ments at once. Besides breaking the tenth, 
we at the same time break the first command- 
ment, by committing this sin. You know the 
first commandment forbids idolatry. It says, 
" Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 
But the Bible tells us that " covetousness is 
idolatry." Coloss. iii. 5. This means, that 
when people become covetous they put their 
gold in the place of God. They love it more 
than they love God ; they think of it more 
than they think of God ; they trust to it more 
than they trust to God. This is making a god 
of it ; and idolatry consists in having some 
other god than the Lord. 

But there is even more than this to be said 



334 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



about covetousness. The covetous man breaks 
the whole ten commandments at once. 

Do you ask how I make this out ? Easily 
enough. You know our Saviour said the ten 
commandments were all embraced in two ; viz., 
to love God with all our hearts ; and to love 
our neighbor as ourselves. But the covetous 
man loves his gold with all his heart. By this 
he breaks the first four commandments. He 
loves his gold more than he loves his neighbor. 
By this he breaks the last six commandments. 
What a dreadfully wicked thing covetousness 
is ! St. Paul tells us, as was said at the be- 
ginning of this sermon, that covetousness, or 
" the love of money, is the root of all evil." 
This means, that it leads people to commit all 
kinds of sin. It makes them unkind, hard- 
hearted, cruel, and unjust. It leads to vio- 
lence, bloodshed, and murder. 

When the Spaniards conquered Mexico, they 
killed so many people, that it might almost 
be said they waded in blood to get possession 
of it. And what was the chief object they 
had in view ? It was to get the gold, which 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 336 

was found there in such wonderful profu- 
sion. 

When the emperor found he could not pro- 
tect his city against the fierce invaders, he col- 
lected his principal treasures together, and 
threw them into the lake on which his capital 
was built. The Spanish general, Cortes, was 
so much disappointed at finding so little gold, 
that he ordered a huge gridiron to be made, 
and then put the emperor on it, and roasted 
him over a slow fire to make him tell where 
his treasures were. 

The history of the world is full of the hor- 
rible things that men have done from a desire 
to get gold. Let me give just one as a sample. 

Some years since a sea-faring man was re- 
turning home after a long absence. He had 
left home as a boy ; he was now a full-grown 
man, and so altered in appearance that he was 
sure nobody would know him. He had been 
very successful in business, and was now quite 
rich. His old parents were very poor, and he 
was going back to make them comfortable for 
the rest of their days. 



336 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



When he arrived at his native village he 
made himself known to some of the compan- 
ions of his boyhood, and told them his object 
in returning. He found that his parents were 
keeping a small inn, on the outskirts of the 
village. He resolved to go and take lodgings 
at their house for the night, as a traveller, but 
not to make himself known to them till the 
next day. 

He entered into conversation with the old 
people very freely and familiarly. At supper- 
time he pressed them to sit up, and eat with 
him. He asked them many questions about 
their family, and particularly about a son who 
had gone to sea when a boy, and whom they 
had long since thought to be dead. But still 
they never suspected who he was. 

The evening passed away very pleasantly. 
Bed-time came. The old lady showed him to 
his room. As he bade her good-night, he 
shook her warmly by the hand, at the same 
time slipping a purse of gold into it, and tell- 
ing her to take care of it till the morning. 

She showed the gold to her husband. They 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



337 



were greatly surprised. Supposing that their 
lodger must have a great amount of gold with 
him, they began to covet it. This cursed root 
of all evil often brings forth and ripens its 
terrible fruit very quickly. It did so now. 

They resolved to murder the unsuspecting 
traveller, and get his gold. At the still hour 
of midnight they crept softly to his bedside. 
There he lies, sleeping quietly. The sharpened 
knife is raised a moment, and plunged into his 
heart. He groans, and dies. They search his 
trunk. They clutch his gold. A hole is dug 
in the cellar, and the body buried out of sight. 

Next morning some of the neighbors come 
in, and inquire eagerly for the traveller who 
had arrived the night before. The old people 
seem greatly confused, but stammer out, that 
he had risen early and gone away. 

" Surely not," said the neighbors, " for it is 
your own son, who has just returned from sea, 
to make the evening of your days happy. He 
resolved to lodge one night with you as a 
stranger, and make himself known in the 
morning." 

29 



338 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



Who can describe the horror of those wretch- 
ed murderers, when they found that they had 
dyed their hands in the blood of their own 
long lost child ! Oh ! how sinful a thing that 
covetousness must be which could lead to such 
a dreadful crime ! 

We have considered four reasons why we 
should not covet. Because it is unsatisfying ; 
because it is disgraceful • because it is injuri- 
ous ; and because it is sinful. 

Now, my dear children, we have concluded 
our sermons on the commandments. This last 
one makes an excellent finish to them. You 
know that when a carpenter drives in a nail, 
which he wishes shall hold very fast, he takes 
his hammer, and, if it be a wrought iron nail, 
he bends down the end of it where it has come 
through, and drives it again into the wood. 
This is called clenching the nail. This makes 
it sure. Now it cannot be drawn out. 

And just in the same way the tenth com- 
mandment is a sort of clencher to all the rest. 
If we keep this commandment properly, we 
shall be in very little danger of breaking any 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 339 

of the others. It directs our attention to our 
hearts ; and teaches us to keep them right. If 
we can only keep our hearts right, we shall 
not have much trouble with any thing else. 
This is the reason why the Bible says, " Keep 
thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are 
the issues of life." 

But the very hardest thing we have to do, is 
to keep the heart right. If we attempt to do 
this in our own strength, we shall succeed 
about as well as if we should stand at the door 
of our house, and try to keep the air out, by 
beating it with our fists. In spite of all we 
can do, evil thoughts will creep in, and covet- 
ous desires will spring up. Well, what should 
we do, when we find them there ? We should 
be sorry for having them, and ask God to for- 
give us, and take them all away. What a 
beautiful Collect that is before the command- 
ments, in the Ante- Communion service ; and 
how clearly it shows us the only true way in 
which we can get rid of our evil thoughts ! 

" Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are 
open, all desires known, and from whom no 



340 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



secrets are hid, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts 
by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit ; that we 
may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify 
thy holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen." 

And when we feel our need of the help of 
God's grace to enable us to keep His com- 
mandments, how beautifully we are taught to 
pray for this grace in the Collect which fol- 
lows the commandments, in the service just re- 
ferred to ! 

" Almighty Lord, and everlasting God, 
vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to direct, sanctify, 
and govern, both our hearts and bodies, in the 
ways of thy laws, and in the works of thy com- 
mandments ; that through thy most mighty 
protection, both here and ever, we may be pre- 
served in body and soul, through our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen." 

If we pray thus, with ail our hearts, we shall 
find these commandments like fences set up on 
either side of " The King's Highway ; " and 
we shall find that way leading us right through 
the wilderness of this world, to the glory and 



THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



341 



blessedness of our Father's house above. May 
it please God to guide us all into this glorious 
way, and bring us at last to His heavenly rest, 
for Jesus' sake. Amen. 
29* 



342 



THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 



HYMN ON THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 

I must not nurse within my soul, 
One spark of sin's unhallowed fire ; 

Or yield my heart to the control 

Of aught that speaks a wrong desire. 

If others, in the flush of health, 

Can richly dress and brightly shine ; 

I must nor envy them their wealth, 
Or wish that aught of theirs was mine. 

If Grocl should call me to be poor, 
Still I'll be thankful for my lot : 

For Jesus trod this path before, 

And well I know He murmured not ! 

I must not turn with envious eyes, 
On aught that others may possess ; 

Or wish, whatever God denies, 
To make their sum of blessings less. 

Is there, then, nought beneath, above, 

That I my covet to possess ? * 
Yes, there's the Saviour's boundless love, 

With which He waits, my soul to bless ! 

To me, this treasure, Lord, impart ; 

Thy pardoning grace, oh ! let me prove ; 
Write Thou Thy Laws upon my heart, 

And make me covet all Thy Love ! 



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Life of, by Mrs. L. C. Tu thill. 12mo. . 1 25 

Pollock, Robert. 

Tales of the Covenanters 50 

Helen of the Glen. Illustrated. . . .25 
The Persecuted Family. Illustrated. . .25 
Ralph Gemmell. Illustrated 25 

Ray of Light 

To Brighten Cottage Homes. By the author of 

a u Trap to Catch a Sunbeam." 18mo. . . 30 

13 



CARTER'S CATALOGUE. 



Retrospect, The ; 

Or, Review of Providential Mercies. . . 40 
Richmond, Leigh. 

Annals of the Poor. 40 

Domestic Portraiture. 12mo. . . . .15 
Rogers, Mrs. G. A. 

The Folded Lamb 40 

Roger Miller ; 

Or, Heroism in Humble Life 30 

Round the Fire. A Series of Stories. . . -50 
Ryle, Rev. J. C. 

Living or Drad? 50 

"Wheat or Chaff? 50 

Startling Questions 50 

Rich and Poor. 50 

Priest, Puritan, and Preacher. . . .50 
Schmeid, C. Von. 

A Hundred Short Tales. . . 50 

Sheepfold and Common; 

Or, The Evangelical Rambler. . . . 1 25 

Sherwood, Mrs. 

Clever Stories. . . . * . . .50 

Think before you Act. 25 

Duty is Safety 25 

Jack, the Sailor Boy. . . . -25 

Sidney Gray. 

By the author of " Mia and Charley.*' . 50 

Stories of the Ocean. 

Bv the Rev. Jno. Spaulding SO 

14 



BOOKS FOR CHILDREN. 



Sigourney. Mrs. L. H. 

Water Drops 50 

Letters to my Pupils. 18 mo 50 

Olive Leaves. Illustrated. . . . .50 

The Boy's Book and the Girl's Book, each, . 40 

The Child's Book. Illustrated 35 

Sinclair, Catherine. 

Charlie Seymour 80 

Holiday House 50 

Stories on the Lord's Prayer. 

By the author of " Edward and Miriam." . .30 

Tales from English History. 18mo. . . .50 
Tales of Sweden and the Norsemen. - . .50 

Tales of Travellers 50 

Tof I Gate. ISmo. "With frontispiece. . . .25 
Truth is Always Best ; Or, The Fatal Necklace. 25 

Tyng, Rev. S. H., D.D. 

The Captive Orphan 1 00 

The Rich Kinsman 1 00 

Sinner's Friend 25 

Taylor, Jane. 

Limed Twigs 50 

Hymns for Infant Minds. . . . .40 

Life and Correspondence. . . . .40 

Display, a Tale. . . . . . . .30 

Original Poems for Infant Minds . . .40 

Rhymes for the Nursery. . . . .50 

Tennent, Rev. William. Life of 25 

15 



CARTER'S CATALOGUE. 

Three Months Under the Snow 30 

Tucker, Miss E. 

The Rainbow in the North 50 

Abbeokutta ; or, Sunrise in the Tropics. . .50 
Southern Cross and Southern Crown. . . 50 
Uncle Jack ; The Fault Killer. ... 30 
Unica. A Story for Girls. 18mo. . . .25 
Vara ; or, The Child of Adoption. 12mo. . 1 00 
By the same author. 

Nellie of Truro. 12mo 1 00 

The Julia. ....... 1 00 

Very Little Tales 

For very Little Children. 2 vols. . . .75 

Vicars, Captain Hedley. Memoirs of. l8mo. . 40 
Victory Won. By the same author. 18mo. . .25 
Warfare and Work ; Or, Life's Progress. 18mo. 50 

Way Home. l8mo 50 

Watts Divine and Moral Songs. Illustrated. . . 40 

Week, The 50 

Whitecross' Anecdotes on the Catechism. . . 30 
Wilberforce, William, Memoir of. 50 

Willie and Unica. 18mo 50 

Woodruff, Anne T. Shades of Character. , 1 00 
Wylie, Rev. J. A. On Fulfilled Prophecy. . . 30 

16 



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